Dan's Taste Chefs of the Hamptons to Donate Money to Victims of Texas Flooding

One of the top Hamptons food events of the summer is now part of an even greater cause.

Proceeds from Dan’s Taste Chefs of the Hamptons, the third Dan’s Taste event of the summer – which will take place on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Sí Sí at the EHP Resort and Marina in East Hampton – will be donated to victims of the recent floods in Texas. Caused by torrential rains, the floods have claimed lives, destroyed homes, and damaged infrastructure.

“It’s media helping media,” Victoria Schneps-Yunis, publisher of Dan’s Papers and founder of Schneps Media, the parent company of Dan’s Papers, Long Island Press, amNew York Metro, and more, said. “I read the article written by the editor of Texas Monthly. She lost her house, her family, she saw being swept away, and she held on to a branch that broke, and then she held on to another branch and it broke, and then she reached up and further to another branch, and she held on, literally for her life, and she was able to share her own personal experience. And just reading that, I said to my son, who’s my partner, Josh Schneps, ‘We’ve got to help these people.’ We have blessed to be here, and we’ve got to help somebody, and the people on the ground in Texas who are devastated by their personal losses.”

Proceeds from the Chefs of the Hamptons’ ticket sales from DansTaste.com will be given to the Salvation Army’s Texas flood relief fund.

The donation was announced along with Village of Southampton Mayor William Manger Jr. and Suffolk County Legislator Ann Welker.

“Southampton Village has a huge heart,” Manger said. “And certainly this is a testament to that, the fact that the chefs have come together, the Salvation Army has come out, Dan’s Papers, all working together to try and help those that are really in bad shape down there in Texas.”

The chefs who attended the press conference included the stars of the show at Chefs of the Hamptons – DJ Chef, Andrew Molen, and Nicholas Resini.

“I’m happy to working with Dan’s Papers,” DJ Chef said. “I was really excited when they asked me to join Red, White, & Brews, I won the Top Chef competition there. So it was a really good time, and I’m  excited about chefs of the Hamptons, and it’s no surprise that they’re going to be helping out the Texas flood victims. I’m on charity triple duty this week – celebrity softball game for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, and I’m doing the Marty Lyons Foundation. To bring it home with Dan’s Papers and the Texas fund victims caps off my week.”

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft just happened to be walking down the street as the press conference took place – and immediately pledged $10,000 to the fund. 

“Mr. Kraft — we’re raising money for families in Texas. Can you help?” Schneps called out. Kraft didn’t hesitate, pledging $10,000 on the spot to the Salvation Army’s Texas flood relief fund.

“I’ve been a proud Jets fan for decades — but today, I’m officially a Patriots fan. Robert Kraft has a heart as big as Texas,” Schneps declared to cheers from the crowd.

The moment came during the kickoff of a Hamptons-based culinary relief initiative that will continue at Dan’s Taste of the Hamptons on Thursday, July 17, where a portion of proceeds from featured dishes will support Texas flood victims.

From Main Street to the main event — the Hamptons once again delivered star power, heart, and hometown heroics.