'Top Chef' Contender Brings Labor Day New Orleans Lobster Boil to Hampton Bays

Nina Compton faced down tough competition in Season 11 of Top Chef, now she’s ready for the Hamptons.

“I’m excited about this menu because we do a lot of crab and seafood boils in New Orleans but I’m taking this lobster boil on a bit differently,” the Caribbean-born chef says. From St. Lucia to the Big Easy to Canoe Place Inn & Cottages, this Labor Day event is a trip down South. Compton says there’s a natural hunger for all things ‘Nawlins.

“The reason New Orleans really stands out in people’s minds is it’s 300 years old and still carried on,” she says. “I’ve been there for nearly 10 years and I’m still learning different ways people cook in their houses,” she adds. “Everyone has a lot of respect” for the history and “for each other.”

Cooking in people’s houses is something Compton also enjoys. Her last trip to the East End gave her that chance.

“It was before the pandemic, I love being by the sea. I went to a friend’s house who is also a fellow chef and we just cooked out all day.”

Compton will be cooking all day in the newly overseen Danny Meyers kitchens of Canoe Place. She’s not worried. “The Hamptons has a very relaxed energy which I enjoy. It brings your stress level all the way down.”

Her secret for lobster, crab and clams menu? “I’m going to bring a lot of spice,” she says with a Cajun cackle. Her two popular New Orleans restaurants are Compère Lapin and the Bywater American Bistro.

If those were a challenge, she says nothing prepares any chef for the television competition. Bravo’s Top Chef named her runner-up and she was voted Fan Favorite. These days, she’s too busy in the kitchen to tune in.

“It’s hard for me to watch,” she admits. “I have come back and judged, but it’s hard because I’ve been through exactly what they are going through. I tell people no matter how much you practice, no matter how much you try, you can never prepare for it.”

Canoe Place says they are also prepared with a large family-friendly back patio and a New Orleans jazz band to play along. “This should bring music lovers of all ages to their feet,” says director of operations Molly Fargo. “The Grammy-nominated band will make you feel like you’re in the French Quarter,” she adds.

Jefferey Miller is a trombonist and singer from New Orleans who performed in Carnegie Hall with the legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band. He was just 15. He’s taking a one-day break from touring with the Jonas Brothers to appear with a combo at Canoe Place. He’s joined by third-generation New Orleans saxophonist Calvin Johnson and several other band members.

All of this kicks off something Fargo says is called “The Good Ground Tavern’s Chef Series.” The program promises to bring quote-unquote “top chefs” in from around the country throughout the year. And it looks like they are off to a spicy start. Compton is ready.

“I’m looking forward to coming back. The Hamptons are beautiful.”

Tickets are $150 per person, children are $90. More at canoeplace.com

Bill McCuddy occasionally reads and writes. He also cohosts ‘Weekend Live: The Hamptons Now’ on LTV and ‘Air Hamptons with Bridget and Bill’ on WLIW.