Love Bites

Love was in the air on Saturday night. The community came together on January 26 at the annual Love Bites event at The Muses in Southampton to support one of the East End’s most deserving causes, Katy’s Courage.

Love Bites, organized by Linda Shapiro and Chef Peter Ambrose, takes place each year in January. This year, the honorees were from the culinary community of the Hamptons, which works hard to make the event a huge success year after year. Accepting the awards were Joe Realmuto from Nick & Toni’s as well as Cheryl Stair from Art of Eating.

Katy’s Courage is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting education, children’s bereavement support, and pediatric cancer research. The foundation includes Katy’s Kids @ CMEE, a program at the Children’s Museum of the East End that offers support for children and adolescents grieving the death of a loved one. The organization was founded in 2012 in honor of local Katy Stewart. She was diagnosed with a rare form of pediatric liver cancer called hepatoblastoma and died at age 12. Her infinite courage motivated her parents, Jim Stewart and Brigid Collins of Sag Harbor, to found the organization.

The event offered a variety of chef tastings from some of the most celebrated East End restaurants. Highlights from the evening included a chicken and quinoa dish from Elegant Affairs, duck from Art of Eating, and oyster shooters from Bell and Anchor. The Clubhouse in East Hampton offered a salmon dish and Hamptons Farms, a delicious ham croquette. The hot pink champagne risotto bar by Chef Peter Ambrose was not to be missed.

The desserts were equally impressive. Some of the standouts were the macarons from Sag Harbor Baking Co. The Dreesen’s Donuts display was over-the-top with adorable ladybug donuts, while Shock Ice Cream provided cones topped with cotton candy and glitter. Local beverage companies like Diplomatico Rum, Mezcal Don Sarita, Montauk Brewery, Montauk Hard Label, and Hampton Coffee Company were also on hand.

The entertainment continued with DJ Michael from East End Entertainment getting everyone on the dance floor for the majority of the night. The photo booth was also a big draw for party-goers. I do love a photo booth!

The raffles and auctions were also a huge hit. A Golfer’s Ultimate Dream Raffle was held along with a silent auction and 50/50 raffle. The event raised $23,000.

The Independent has proudly been the lead media sponsor of this event for the past five years and looks forward to its growing success. The ultimate goal for Katy’s Courage is to “foster kindness, happiness, and wellbeing in the world through upholding its mission to ‘pass it on.’” There was an abundance of kindness and happiness in the room on Saturday night.

jessica@indyeastend.com
@hamptondaze