Sag Harbor kitchen tour offers taste of design

About 150 ticket holders participated in the Sag Harbor Community Food Pantry’s Neighbors Helping Neighbors kitchen tour on Saturday.

Six local kitchens were featured, including those of Jonathan Morse, Nancy and Mitchell Berken, and Barbara and Bob Wolfram in Sag Harbor, Susan Proctor Dusenberry and Regina and Stephen Humanitzki, both in North Haven, Nancy and Mitch Berken in Bay Point and a Woudsma and Associates Builders spec house in North Haven owned by Food Pantry Director Lillian Woudsma and her husband, John Woudsma.

Standing in her modern kitchen in her lighthouse-themed home on Saturday, Ms. Humanitzki said she came up with the idea for a kitchen tour a few years ago when she and her husband participated in one in Sonoma, California. “It was just fabulous and fun and I thought ‘we could do this for the Food Pantry,’” she said.

Keeping with the nautical theme of their home, the Humanitzkis served Manhattan and New England clam chowder donated by The Dock House in Sag Harbor. A piano player was also on hand as tour participants took in the open shelving, stainless steel surfaces, granite topped service area and bay views from the open floor plan.

An interior designer by trade, Ms. Humanitzki said the participating homes were selected for their architectural significance, decor, creative use of space and uniqueness. She added that proceeds from the tour would benefit the pantry’s Fresh is Better program, which provides local produce, milk, bread products and seafood to approximately 70 local families weekly.

The Woudsmas served filet from a wooden cutting board in their country pine kitchen equipped with custom cabinets and top-of-the-line appliances. Mr. Wolfram, a kitchen designer whose home was also on the tour, was on hand to answer questions about his designs as he poured Wolffer Estates wine for guests.

One guest at the Woudsma home was Carol McCrone, an East Hampton resident who also supports the Sag Harbor Food Pantry.

“It’s fabulous and has much exceeded our expectations,” she said of the number of tickets sold for the tour.

Ms. Dusenberry’s North Haven home offered spectacular views of the water from a screened-in porch, outdoor seating area and herb garden. In the dining room and kitchen area, exposed Pennsylvania wood beams lined the ceiling and pine planks from a New Hampshire barn lined the floor. The spacious farmhouse-style cooking and eating area even featured a fireplace.

“We wanted a country feel with modern amenities,” Ms. Dusenberry said of her kitchen, which was staged for the tour by The Hampton Staging Company.

Her home was the envy of many tour participants.

“This is the most breathtaking one we’ve been in so far,” said Merril and Gus Komninos, who summer in Sag Harbor, as they enjoyed finger sandwiches and iced tea and lemonade in the screened-in porch.

The Komninos were joined by their friends, Cheri Wicks and John Shaw, also summertime Sag Harbor residents.

“These are truly wonderful homes,” Ms. Wicks said. “I’m really interested in the great diversity, and variety of floors and countertops.”

At the Berken home in Sag Harbor, Southampton-based kitchen designer Rich Raffel and chef Michael Mosolino were on hand.

Mr. Raffel designed the Berken kitchen about five years ago, blending Ms. Berken’s eclectic mix of style into a “contemporary kitchen with clean lines and nautical aspects that simulate the prow of a boat,” he reported.

Mr. Mosolino, who owns Mosolino’s Pizza in Southampton, played a video of his television show “Culinary Experience” while he prepared such delicacies as polenta Bolognese, lobster salmon cakes and mini asparagus, prosciutto and fontina cheese stromboli.

“This has been a huge success,” he said of the tour. “I love doing this and it’s for a great cause.”

Mr. Morse’s kitchen in Sag Harbor featured 1940s era appliances and an extensive collection of Griswold and Wagner cast-iron cookware. Guests were also shown a formal dining room with a chandelier hanging from an original carved ceiling ornament in his 1800-era home.

At the Wolfram home in Sag Harbor, where Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop cheese and Wolffer Estate wine were served, Mr. Wolfram demonstrated how he and his wife custom created their “dream kitchen” that contains antique glass-fronted cabinets, lots of pull-out/roll-out adjustable shelving and cabinets and a granite topped island with a secondary oven.

As Mr. Wolfram showed off his handiwork, Ms. Wolfram spoke about her experience as a tour host.

“It’s a really worthwhile cause and such a fun and friendly thing to do,” she said.

Ms. Humanitzki said the tour took in about $5,000, which will be used to help run the Sag Harbor Community Food Pantry. The pantry spends about $500 a week to provide food assistance to 70 local families.

The pantry is open on Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and is staffed by approximately 20 volunteers. It is located at the Old Whalers Church at 44 Union Street in Sag Harbor.