Dan's Taste X Gurney's Celebrates Summer in Montauk 

Foodies feasted in Montauk at the inaugural Dan’s Taste X Gurney’s fine dining event that debuted Thursday, August 17 at the famed Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa.

“It’s been another super-fun night in Montauk,” said Gurney’s Chef Christopher Watts. “It’s so great to be able to do this in the community. This is the fourth Dan’s event I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of this year — and the second one we’ve done on-property at Gurney’s.”

Guests of Dan’s Taste X Gurney’s sampled the best of Gurney’s restaurants such as Tillie’s, The Beach Club and The Firepit along with the best of Scarpetta Beach featuring Jorge Espinosa, Corporate Executive Chef for Scarpetta Restaurants and Chef De Cuisine Mbada Danso.

Hamptons farm-fresh produce and locally-sourced provisions from Milk Pail and Balsam Farms, Gosman’s Fish and North Fork Oyster were also featured.

Chef Watts and his team dished out an ever-so-tasty selection of small plates, including wasabi-crusted tuna, truffle lobster rolls, burrata with heirloom tomatoes, grilled peach and ricotta salad, raw fresh oysters and grilled scallops and swordfish.

VIP guests also enjoyed a full lobster dinner while slurping up decadently delicious “caviar bumps” off the tops of their hands.

The lobster and caviar were paired with Cincoro Margaritas in the VIP Gold & Silver dining lounge, where the guests also enjoyed exclusive access to DAOU Bodyguard Chardonnay and Reserve Cabernet.

“This is a beautiful event and we’re thrilled to be a part of it,” said Kyle Harman, Northeast Division Manager of Cinco Spirits Group, makers of Cincoro Tequila. “This is the exact clientele we want to be in front of: people who live and hang out in the Hamptons and who want to go out and enjoy themselves and are looking for a luxury experience.”

The event was the culmination of the 2023 Dan’s Taste Summer Series hosted by Dan’s Papers.

“The 2023 Dan’s Taste series was by far the best yet! We partnered with the most coveted destinations in the Hamptons, celebrated the top chefs on the East End and featured only the finest brands,” said Elizabeth Aloni, Senior Vice President of Dan’s Taste Events.

Gold VIP ticket holders also enjoyed a pre-event Champagne toast with the chefs and a beach bonfire afterparty.

All guests enjoyed a wine tasting from Wölffer Estate, Bedell Cellars, Chateau de Berne and DAOU Family Estates.

Sponsors of the event included Adamas Reserve, Armond de Brignac, Blue Moon, Cincoro Tequila, Country Carpet, DAOU Family Estates, Fresca Mixed, Great Jones, 400 Conejos, Hampton Ice, Modelo Especial, Reinstein Ross, Passmore Caviar, SimplySpiked and SunnyD Vodka Seltzer.

“We’ve been working with Dan’s forever. It’s been an amazing partnership,” said Paul Karian, On-Premise Director of Manhattan Beer Distributors, which owns the distribution rights to over 300 brands, including event exhibitors Modello, Blue Moon, SimplySpiked, and Fresca Mixed.

“We like to use these events to showcase newer brands like Fresca Mixed alongside established names like Modello and Blue Moon,” Karian added, noting that the Fresca ready-to-drink canned cocktail line was launched only a year ago.

The event also included a rare opportunity to meet the proprietor behind Passmore, a boutique Northern California farm that operates one of the nation’s few caviar producers, who served up the delicacy in between supplying leading chefs around the world and the opportunity to meet the team behind Reinstein Ross goldsmiths, who create future heirlooms.

“This is our first time exhibiting at this kind of venue, and we love the vibe and the energy here,” said Sara Blair, CEO of Reinstein Ross. “We curated a ‘beach edit’ for the pieces we’re showing today: a lot of pearls, opals, shades of blue and green… things we think of as summer jewelry.

“Heirloom jewelry makes sense in this setting,” Blair continued. “The moodiness, the music, the ocean. There’s a feeling of timelessness here.”

For more information visit DansTaste.com