Cooking With The Countess

The Southampton History Museum is hosting a live monthly Zoom cooking show that will take place in the kitchen of one of the Port of Missing Men, the last, private Gilded Age estate in Southampton. The home was built as a hunting retreat on North Sea’s Cow Neck in the 1920s by H.H. Rogers, Jr., whose father was the wealthiest man in the country in 1910.

“Cooking with the Countess” features Mrs. Peter A. Salm, also known as The Countess von Salm-Hoogstraeten, and her private chef, Brian Hetrich, behind the stove in the vast kitchen at the Port of Missing Men.

The program will take place at 11 a.m. on the first Thursday of every month beginning on June 4 with The Countess and Chef Brian making rhubarb compote with vanilla sauce — a rhubarb pie using organic, home grown produce.

Chef Brian is a raw vegan chef, master grower, speaker and author from West Palm Beach, Florida. He’s been living and counseling others on the raw food lifestyle for over 13 years.

“In my practice, I emphasize the harmonious integration of body, mind and spirit,” he says. “I feel very strongly in using superior nutrition combined with the judicial use of select herbs, pure water, sensible exercise, effective detoxification protocols and other lifestyle factors in order for anyone to realize superior health.”

The Countess has a well-cared for, organic vegetable garden which is the major source of produce for all meals served at the estate. Like Chef Brian, she promotes healthy living and consumption for her family and guests at the estate. She often lends her home to organizations she believes in, including the Peconic Land Trust, Southampton History Museum and others.

“Mrs. Salm is an enthusiastic preservationist for nature and culture in Southampton,” said Tom Edmonds, executive director at the Southampton History Museum. “This cooking show offers a unique experience for natural food and history lovers inside one of the most majestic, historic homes that I know of.”

“Cooking with the Countess” is offered free through Zoom. To RSVP for the Thursday, June 4, 11 a.m. program, visit southamptonhistory.org/calendar.