Go Inside (& Behind the Scenes of) the Hamptons Food Shop Known for Its Legendary $100 per Pound Lobster Salad
Loaves & Fishes has been serving customers in the Hamptons for 42 years… pies, chicken curry, deviled eggs… and, yes, that famous lobster salad
There are food stores in the Hamptons and then there’s Loaves & Fishes.
Photo Courtesy: Jason Penney
Home of the legendary $100 per pound lobster salad.
Source: Loaves & Fishes
But it’s not just the lobster salad.
Try getting a blueberry pie after 11 a.m. on the weekend.
Sold out.
Ever try one of their deviled eggs?
I’ve never taken one out of the store because I eat it right out of the container.
And the ziti salad with chopped dill pickles?
A fan favorite that’s been around since the beginning.
But if you ask me what makes Loaves & Fishes so special, it’s not the food.
It’s the family.
Sybille Van Kempen is the owner.
Photo Courtesy: Conor Harrigan
And Loaves is a family affair.
Sybille and daughter Karina watch over the Food Store. Husband Gerrit minds the Loaves & Fishes Cook Shop.
Source: Loaves & Fishes Cookshop
Son Kyle tends bar at the Bridgehampton Inn & Restaurant, which Sybille also owns.
Source: Cellophaneland
And Innkeeper Cerene Desilvia might as well be family. She’s been running the Inn for more than 25 years.
Photo Courtesy: Conor Harrigan
By the way, the Loaves empire is expanding.
More on that later.
But first, a history lesson.
FROM INA GARTEN TO LOAVES & FISHES
ALINA CHO: Let's talk about the history of Loaves & Fishes.
Photo Courtesy: Conor Harrigan
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: 1980.
ALINA CHO: Your mother bought it in 1980.
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: Yeah, yeah.
ALINA CHO: Your mother, the legendary, late, great Anna Pump, loved to entertain. She loved to cook. She loved to bake.
Source: The New York Times
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: Oh yeah. Oh yeah.
ALINA CHO: Talk a little bit about that and how that evolved into her buying the Food Store.
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: Well, Mom loved to entertain.
ALINA CHO: Right.
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: She would always say, “Your guests won't necessarily remember what they had for dinner, but they will remember dessert."
Photo Courtesy: Conor Harrigan
And that was her thing. We are Europeans. We were all born in Germany, accustomed to a 4 o'clock piece of cake and a lovely cup of coffee. So, cakes were super important to Mom. And then she kind-of branched out and pursued her culinary education with a lot of great chefs who were having small classes in New York. Then, Mom came to work for Ina.
ALINA CHO: Ina Garten.
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: Ina and Mom were fast friends.
Source: Insider
I think they were probably each other's best friend.
Source: Alchetron
ALINA CHO: You worked for Ina as well.
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: I did, yes.
ALINA CHO: So, how did you and your mom start working together?
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: Well, Mom bought Loaves & Fishes, and right away she was in over her head because it was great and small, and people just embraced it.
Source: Alchetron
ALINA CHO: And they loved her food.
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: Yes. Estée Lauder had a dinner party, and Mom would stay late and make her apricot soufflé in her dishes when the staff left at the end of the day.
ALINA CHO: Wow.
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: And so, the reputation grew from something so simple, but real personal service.
ALINA CHO: And to this day, you still do the Lauder’s Thanksgiving dinner.
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: Yeah. We do. But also, we make brownie pudding or corn pudding in your own dish. You can bring it in. You know, we still offer that.
“SMALL BATCHES… ALL DAY LONG”
ALINA CHO: I think when people think of Loaves & Fishes, quality is what comes to mind. You wouldn’t have the kind of business that you've had for 42 years without having a level of quality that sort-of is a cut above everyone else. So, what do you think sets Loaves & Fishes apart?
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: Freshness. I have the staff make small batches of everything on the menu all day long.
Photo Courtesy: Conor Harrigan
If we sell the pies from the morning, we put new pies out at 11 o'clock. If we sell all the rotisserie chicken at 11 o'clock, we run another rotisserie at 1 o'clock.
ALINA CHO: So, it's small batches.
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: Small batches.
Photo Courtesy: Conor Harrigan
ALINA CHO: Frequently.
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: Frequently, always fresh.
ALINA CHO: That's so interesting.
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: That's the key. You can't serve old food, you just can't. It will show itself.
THE FAMOUS $100 PER POUND LOBSTER SALAD
ALINA CHO: Everyone talks about the $100 per pound lobster salad.
Photo Courtesy: Conor Harrigan
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: Right, right.
ALINA CHO: Is that the number one item?
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: No.
ALINA CHO: Interesting.
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: You know, that's really the treat, the special item.
ALINA CHO: Of course. Yeah.
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: For Saturday or Sunday. Or a guest or a celebration.
ALINA CHO: If I'm going to someone's house and they say, "Pick up lunch," I'll come by and get the lobster salad.
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: Well, you’ll be popular.
ALINA CHO: But you’re right. You don't think to get it just for yourself.
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: We don't sell a lot of little [containers].
ALINA CHO: Yeah, yeah.
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: We either sell a pint or a quart.
IT’S NOT JUST THE FOOD STORE… PLUS, EXPANSION PLANS?
ALINA CHO: Let's talk a little bit about the Loaves & Fishes empire. The beautiful Bridgehampton Inn & Restaurant.
Source: Bridgehampton Inn & Restaurant
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: [I bought it in] 1994.
ALINA CHO: It was one building with six rooms.
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: It was a boarding house.
ALINA CHO: Now, you have the [Loaves & Fishes] Cook Shop next door, which your husband runs.
Source: Loaves & Fishes
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: Exactly.
ALINA CHO: And the Inn has 12 rooms now.
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: Six more rooms.
ALINA CHO: And you have a wonderful restaurant…
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: … that seats 100 people.
ALINA CHO: So, tell me, what's next for the Bridgehampton Inn [& Restaurant] and Loaves & Fishes? You’re thinking about expanding the Inn, right?
Photo Courtesy: Conor Harrigan
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: Yes.
ALINA CHO: I love that idea.
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: Cerene [the innkeeper] said, "We need more rooms. Don't you think we could have more rooms?" And my mother always said, “We could have 60 rooms, they would all be full.”
ALINA CHO: You're absolutely right.
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: And now with the pandemic still driving this kind of business…
ALINA CHO: Do you think that it's changed for good?
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: I do. I do. Yep.
ALINA CHO: People are here for good. And others really want to come out and stay.
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: Right. Yeah.
ALINA CHO: That must give you a sense of pride.
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: It does. It does.
Photo Courtesy: Conor Harrigan
ALINA CHO: And the fact that people really came to [the Food Store] during their time of need, I mean, as hard as it was to keep up with demand, it must have on some level felt…
Photo Courtesy: Conor Harrigan
SYBILLE VAN KEMPEN: It felt great. The Food Store was like a sanctuary. We were happy to be there for people when they needed us.