A family affair for Water Mill chef at Beard House

Professional chefs, particularly those who have made a name for themselves, are notorious for being hard on their line cooks. They yell, they bang pots and pans around demonstratively, they’ve even been known to throw things or eject an assistant from the kitchen.

The heat of the kitchen at a place like the James Beard House, the posh Manhattan restaurant started by Julia Child that showcases a different renowned chef every night, can be even harder to stand for assistants. But for Water Mill chef Matthew Guiffrida there can be no yelling, there can be no ejections, and there most certainly can be no throwing. If there was it could make for a tense dinner table come Easter or Thanksgiving.

That’s because when Mr. Guiffrida’s name adorns the menu at the James Beard House on March 12 it will be joined by two other Guiffridas, both preceded by female names: his sister and sister-in-law.

“It’s very different working with your sisters than just a regular employee,” Mr. Guiffrida, the owner of Muse in Water Mill, said this week. “If I yell at them, I’ll hear it later. We have our disagreements, there’s arguments here and there, but overall we work very well together.”

Shari Guiffrida, his younger sister, and Angela Guiffrida, his sister-in-law, are not just another couple of line cooks either. Both are seasoned chefs in their own right and were specifically invited to cook with Mr. Guiffrida and have their names featured on the evening’s menu.

Shari Guiffrida is sous chef at Moon Brook Country Club in Jamestown, New York. She got into cooking when she took a job as a prep cook at the sprawling Pinehurst resort in North Carolina, where Matthew was working at the time, prior to his move to Long Island to become chef at the Inn at Quogue. The kitchen at Pinehurst’s Carolina Room is also where Matthew met Angela and, in turn, where she met her future husband while he was visiting his younger brother. Angela is now the executive chef at Biltmore Estates in North Carolina.

The Guiffridas have done their family dinner at the Beard House before. On the weight of his years as executive chef at the Inn at Quogue and the Patio in Westhampton Beach, Mr. Guiffrida has been invited to do the cooking at the celebrated kitchen twice before. Both times he brought his sisters along as his sous chefs and their production was so well liked all three were invited back as a team for this month’s dinner—Angela’s name actually tops the menu—which has been titled in line with the theme of “All in the Family.”

“It’s a big honor because they have to seek you out and invite you,” Mr. Guiffrida said. “We’re a good team. Shari is a prep maniac, she’s so fast. Angela is very organized and makes sure everything runs smoothly. I put the twist on things.”

The twist for the “All in the Family” meal will be a menu rife with dishes from the Guiffridas’ Italian upbringing and gourmet specialties. Ahi tuna “lollipops” with avocado mousse and candied wasabi, duck and mission fig confit on red curried naan croutons and smoked salmon cannolis will start the evening during the cocktail hour.

The five-course supper starts with escolar Milanese with grilled artichoke purée (escolar is a light white-meat fish caught in the Mediterranean). The second course is “Inside Out New England Clam Chowder”: chowder ingredients baked into a cake, surrounded by sherry cream sauce and homemade oyster crackers.

Next up: Patagonian toothfish zeppole: Chilean sea bass confit served on a savory Italian doughnut with baby arugula and bearnaise mousse. “Three Little Pigs” is the second entrée course—pork prepared three ways: teriyaki and cider braised pork belly on an apple and onion stirfry, extra thick homemade bacon served on pimiento and cheddar oatmeal, and pulled pork with maple spiked mustard on a charred scallion Johnny cake.

Dessert—Angela’s specialty—is a gourmet s’more: graham cracker bread pudding and triple chocolate mousse topped with homemade marshmallow.

Each course is paired with a wine selected by Michael DeGennaro, owner of Southampton Wines and Spirits, next door to Mr. Guiffrida’s restaurant in the Water Mill Shoppes plaza.

Dinner at the James Beard House is served to up to 85 people. Members of the James Beard Foundation get first rights to reservations and the additional seats are sold for $165 for the prix fixe.