Meet the new executive chef at the Jedediah Hawkins Inn by Cyndi Murray

After more than a decade cooking in New York City and the Hamptons, Chef Craig Attwood has taken up residence on the North Fork and he’s bringing his unique cooking style to the Jedediah Hawkins Inn in Jamesport.

Trained at the New York Institute of Technology, Mr. Attwood is a South Shore native whose resumé includes stints at Indigo and Judson Grill in New York City and East Hampton Point and Public House 49 on Long Island.

Earlier this month he replaced Rich Kanowsky as the executive chef at Jedediah Hawkins Inn in Jamesport. With a laidback attitude, Mr. Attwood hopes to bring a fresh and inviting atmosphere to the inn. Only a few weeks into his new job, he has worked with sous chef Kyle Strong-Romeo to overhaul both the menus for the inn’s upstairs dining room and basement speakeasy, which now offers fun and creative food choices like duck chilidogs with blue mustard.

On Thursday, we caught up with Mr. Attwood to find out more about his cooking style and his vision for the Jedediah Hawkins Inn.

Q. Why did you want to work at Jedediah Hawkins Inn?

A. “I had known the previous chefs and I’d help them out when they did events or holidays. So, it kind of just came together. Plus, I love the area. The people are really nice. It’s just refreshing.”

Q. How did you get into cooking?

A. “My mother and my neighbor were always cooking when I was a kid. I grew up watching Julia Child and I’ve always worked in restaurants. I washed dishes and then I did prep. I just worked my way up from the there.”

Q. What is your signature dish?

A. “I would say costal cuisine with local fish and some Mediterranean and Middle Eastern influences. For here, I’ll try to keep signatures for each season. In the summer, we’ll do heirloom tomatoes and cucumbers. When we get into the fall there will be more root vegetables.”

Q. How will the menu be different now that you’re chef?

A. “Depth of flavor. You can read the menu and see rib eye, but there is more that goes into it. It is the beef stock we make, the trimmings and the way we slow roast the carrots in the oven. It is all these simple things put together at the same time that brings out the taste, the depth of flavor and the care that goes into its preparation.”

Q. What do you hope to bring to Jedediah Hawkins Inn?

A. “I’m easy going. I want the staff to have fun because that translates to the customers. If the staff is happy, the customers will see that and get a better experience. I want to make the speakeasy more approachable for the locals.  It isn’t just a high-end inn it is a place where you can come relax, have some local wine and beer and you’re not going to spend so much money.”

Q. What should first-time diners order?

A. “I’d say you have to order the duck wings. That is something that is a signature of Jedediah Hawkins. It was taken off the menu for a while, but we wanted to bring it back because Crescent Duck Farm is right down the road.”

http://northforker.com/2014/04/20/meet-the-new-executive-chef-at-the-jedediah-hawkins-inn/

Unpretentious And Awesome: A Guide To The North Fork
This week, we’re launching Gothamist’s travel content, Gothamist Getaways. Four times a year, we’ll have a week of posts featuring looks at travel, food, products and tips, near and far, for making your trips more pleasurable. So enjoy and let us know if you have any hints for us—email travel@gothamist.com.

Maybe you got the idea from GIRLS. But the North Fork has been a great escape for city folk for decades. With inexpensive mom-and-pop motels, farmers and oystermen working land and shore, and a truly unpretentious vibe, The North Fork, is an all-season destination. The only downside to this bucolic, charming stretch of Long Island is many of the area beaches are a bit rocky.

GETTING THERE: Put Greenport, where you’ll be spending the night, as your ultimate destination in your GPS. En route, stop in Mattituck to visit The Village Cheese Shop and stock up on a bit of charcuterie and cheese to take with you to go (you’ll appreciate them when you’re tasting wine later on). For those without a car, you can take the Hampton Jitney or the Long Island Rail Road.,

WHERE TO STAY The Silver Sands Motel is a family run motel with a small private (not rocky) beach. They are running a special until May 15th, two nights at the motel, a local bottle of wine and a $50 gift certificate to use at one of three fantastic area restaurants (The Frisky Oyster, Noah’s,Biere) all for $250 plus tax. If more luxurious digs are your thing, check into Shinn Estates or The Jedediah Hawkins Inn.

http://gothamist.com/2014/03/26/jauntsetter_guide_to_the_north_fork.php

We’re thrilled to be selected to be part of the Forbes Travel Guide. The Guide (formerly known as the Mobil Travel Guide) is a star rating service and series of travel guides for luxury hotels, restaurants and spas worldwide.

We’re live at

http://www.forbestravelguide.com/the-hamptons-new-york/hotels/jedediah-hawkins-inn

The Audacity of Hops Beer Dinner at Jedediah on Feb. 28
February 11, 2014 | By Eileen M. Duffy

Session in the Speakeasy, a winter series featuring dinners paired with local beverages a the Jedediah Hawkins Inn, will wrap up on Friday, February 28, at 6:30 p.m. This week the subject is beer. Craft beer, that is, something Edible has been following from the stalwarts at the Southampton Publick House to the microbreweries sprouting up all over the Long Island. The master of ceremonies is Tom Acitelli, a beer historian and the author of The Audacity of Hops. Join Tom for a tasting of local brews, and learn the distinct styles of craft beers and the passions and palates behind them. A sampling of hearty pub-type fare will round out an evening of gastro-goodness.

All sessions begin at 6:30 p.m. and tickets are $95 per person, plus tax and tip.

Friday, February 28: ”Craft Beer: A Love Story” As part Jedediah Hawkins Inns’ “Sessions in the Speakeasy” author and beer historian, Tom Acitelli, will host a beer tasting and discussion on the rapid expanse of craft brewing .  Some of what is written in Tom’s book “The Audacity of Hops” will be intertwined with the evenings’ libations and rhetoric. Six Long Island based beers will be poured alongside hearty pub-fare in the cozy speakeasy space of the Victorian Inns’ basement.

Tom says he wants to give the audience a general introduction to the history of craft beer and especially the prominence of the NYC area in that history. The rise of IPA as the American archetype and the use of Cascade hops (the first American aromatic hop grown and used in the states) will also be a focus in the session.  Tickets are $95 per person which includes beer, food, and a copy of Tom’s book. Don’t want to drive afterward?

http://newyorkcorkreport.com/blog/2014/02/13/upcoming-long-island-beer-events-february-and-march-edition/

Alan Katz, cocktail historian and co-founder of NY Distilling Co. will mix cocktails featuring whiskey, bourbon and vodka from Long Island Spirits as well as gins from NY Distilling Co.

Josh Wesson’s Long Island Wine pairing at Jedediah Hawkins by Eileen M. Duffy

I’ve been to a few wine dinners. They’re mostly always fun. The system usually breaks down by the second course when the room starts to get loud after the wine’s been flowing. Last week, however, I attended a dinner with Josh Wesson at Jedediah Hawkins. It was the first of a series, Sessions in the Speakeasy, and it focused on wine and food pairing using exclusively Long Island wine. Wesson is best known for having started Best Cellars, a retail shop that organized wine by style rather than by region. He now writes book and does talks and things like wine dinners, and he’s really funny and entertaining; he kept everyone involved until the Martha Clara Clusters was poured with the chocolate cake. There was one line about a wine being not Chateau Lafite but Chateau Your Feet. He’s been a big supporter of Long Island wine, having emceed this year’s HARVEST East End. And he said something that I think a lot of people forget: “It’s not often you get to see a new wine region, and one so close to home.” Let upisland have their breweries, we’ve got wine, baby!

He started out telling everyone that he wasn’t going to tell us something that we didn’t already know, because we all know what we like, and every wine gets a thumbs up, a thumbs sideways or a thumbs down. On to the pairings:
The first course was to show that you don’t always have to drink the wine you cooked with. The sauce for scallops was made with the Sherwood House chardonnay, but just as many people liked the chenin pairing.

The second course was to show that still and sparkling wines can be paired with salads, vinegar be damned.

The third course was the lesson on red wine with fish. Again, just as many people liked the McCall pinot with the salmon as liked the Paumanok chardonnay.

The fourth course (not pictured above) of short ribs was served with the Lenz 2008 Gewürztraminer, a white wine, and the 2009 Roanoke Cabernet Sauvignon, which was drinking quite well, by the way. The lesson was white wine with meat; again, it was half and half, with the gewürz getting as many votes as the cab.

The final course was chocolate cake: one made with 62 percent cocoa, the other with 87 percent cocoa, paired with Jamesport’s 2007 Syrah Sidor Reserve, a dry wine, and theMartha Clara Clusters, a sweet fortified wine. This was to show that pairing sweet with sweet is a much better match.

Wesson’s theory and wit are present in the book that came with the evening:Williams-Sonoma-Wine-Food-Look-Flavor

12 eggs separated

1and 1/2 cups sugar

1 quart half and half

1 quart milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

beat egg whites til stiff add 1 cup of the sugar

in separate bowl beat egg yokes add half cup sugar

blend together yokes and stiff whites

add half and half and milk

add vanilla and chill in refrigerator

DO NOT SPRINKLE WITH NUTMEG – IT CHANGES THE TASTE NONNA NEVER USED IT