Stacy Dermont

The Hamptons—how did Stacy Dermont end up in this fancy neck of the woods?

She grew up on the extreme other end of New York State, in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains, where Appalachia overlaps with the Rust Belt!

Despite Big Food’s impact on the general population’s diet, Stacy was raised on a lot of homegrown produce, eggs, meat and wild foods. Local and seasonal was a given on the farm, and it spoiled her in a way. She cannot bear to eat store-bought eggs or last week’s carrots or any other items that merely pass as edible. It was a natural fit for her to take over as restaurant critic for Dan’s Papers, shortly after she accepted an editorship there in 2010. She now writes the occassional piece for her hometown newspaper, The Sag Harbor Express, when she's not helping out at her friend Marilee Foster's farm in Sagaponack, or lunching at Provisions Natural Market and Organic Café in Sag Harbor.

Stacy is an avid gardener with a penchant for living the very good life. For 10 years, in addition to restaurant reviews, she penned weekly columns for Dan’s Papers, the “Bible of the Hamptons,” on celebrity gossip—South O’ the Highway—and, on food and drink—Hamptons Epicure. She has also written for SeedBroadcast Agri-Culture Journal and EQ Magazine.

Interview subjects have included Florence Fabricant, Gael Greene, Andrea Kowch, Chef Sarabeth Levine, Chef Angie Mar, Rick Mast, Danny Peary, Anna Pump, Suzanne Rafer, Chef Eric Ripert, Roman Roth, Reynold Ruffins, Chef Marcus Samuelsson, Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Gahan Wilson, Nancy Winters and many others.

Stacy gave her first cooking demonstration—Chinese Eggdrop Soup—at the age of 9 for her local 4-H group.

It was her early interest in food history that led her to research her cousin Anna Botsford Comstock (1854 – 1930). At age 11, Stacy gave a presentation on “Anna B.”(as she’s known in the family), the Mother of Nature Study in America, to the Cattaraugus-New Albion Historical Society.

Stacy’s family farm in North Otto was located about mid-way between the farm where cousin Anna B. grew up and the farm where Stacy’s great-grandfather grew experimental crops for Cornell University.

Stacy moved to Hamburg, New York, for her senior year of high school where she attended Frontier Central High School. She learned a lot about "slickers" there and a thing or three from Mr. Korthals, her English teacher.

College took Stacy to Rochester where she met her future husband, composer Dr. Daniel Koontz. His career as a professor brought them to Southampton College (now Stony Brook Southampton), where Stacy studied creative writing at the graduate level with Jules Feiffer, Roger Rosenblatt and Richard Reeves.

Stacy's very favorite writing is dedicating copies of her cookbook to readers. She loves to hear their cooking stories and she has more cookbooks (and the great American novel) in da woiks.

Why lock your car in the Hamptons during the summer months?

If you leave it unlocked someone is liable to fill it with zucchini.

Life is good here, enjoy a piece of the Hamptons wherever you hang your straw hat.