Popular Photographer and Chef/Painter Show at North Fork Chocolate Company
Photographer Barbara Lassen and North Fork Chocolate Company chef, and painter, Steven Amaral present a joint show of their work at the Chocolate Company, 740 Main Road in Aquebogue, through September 5. The North Fork Chocolate Company is owned by Amaral and Ann Corley. Summer hours are Tuesdays through Sundays 11-6.
Hailing from Manorville, Lassen is best known for her gorgeous photography featured in The Hamptons Kitchen (Norton). This cookbook and guide to the East End by Bridgehampton’s Hillary Davis and Sag Harbor’s Stacy Dermont, was released during the height of the pandemic. “I’m so excited by peoples’ reaction to the first book I shot! I get so many great questions and I’ve had so many requests for related images, I’ve had some of my work blown-up and printed on canvas and some food shots reproduced on notecards—so people can take it home,” says Lassen. “It’s thrilling to me knowing that people are looking at my work every day in their kitchens and living rooms.” Widely known for her portraiture business, Barbara Lynne Photography, Lassen has served as the longtime photo editor for Dan’s Papers, so you’ll often see her—and her two cameras—at red-carpet events.
Amaral paints every day—sometimes on artisanal chocolate and sometimes on large canvases. His work is often informed by his travels. In addition to both forks of Long Island, Amaral has lived and worked in Hawaii and California. “I don’t paint from photographs, I create from what I see in my head,” he says. “Sometimes it’s a dream I had the night before—abstract. I’m inspired by the people I meet and the rich farming culture of the North Fork every day,” he says.
All of the work will be available for purchase. The North Fork Chocolate Company now features signed copies of The Hamptons Kitchen ($29.95) in its retail space, which is adjacent to its popular chocolate shop and ice creamery. So patrons can pick up a memento featuring many North Fork wine pairing suggestions—in addition to made-from-scratch candies and chocolates. The Chocolate Company has created gift baskets featuring the book, Lassen’s notecards, and an assortment of goodies.
The Hamptons Kitchen is also available from area bookstores and from all major online booksellers.
