DAN'S PAPERS, May 23, 2008 Page 61 www.danshamptons.com
Who’s Here By Janine Cheviot While growing up in Huntington, West Virginia, Katie Lee Joel says she was practically raised in her grandmother’s kitchen, cooking for a tight knit southern family that “at one meal would be talking about the next.” And although it wasn’t until she came to New York in her 20s that she heard the term “foodie,” she certainly is one in every sense of the word. “I love to cook and I love to eat,” said Joel, whose first cookbook, The Comfort Table, came out in April. The book features more than 125 easy-to-follow recipes for starters, salads, soups, entrees, side dishes, breads, breakfasts, desserts and drinks, many she learned from her grandmother, but to which she has added a personal twist. “The book is for everybody, from novices to experts. The recipes work for people who aren’t expert chefs,” she said. “I don’t use fancy terms.” The cookbook is dedicated to Joel’s late grandfather, who along with her grandmother was a great influence in her cooking style and with whom she shared many meals while growing up. “I would have loved to have been able to share this cookbook with him,” she said. The recipes in The Comfort Table call for fresh ingredients that are local, seasonal and organic, proving that southern cooking doesn’t have to be unhealthy. “I wanted to show that comfort food can be elegant,” said Joel. “And what I love about the Hamptons is that there’s so much access to organic, healthy ingredients — the farm stands, fresh seafood, Iacono chicken farm.” Even skeptics can be reassured: Joel’s recipes have been given the ultimate stamp of approval from the queen of southern cooking, Paula Deen, who wrote the book’s foreword. “I call her my fairy godmother. She always gives me great advice,” said Joel. Her southern cooking also confirms that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. “It was love at first bite,” she said of her husband, Piano Man Billy Joel, who she met in New York City in 2002 while she was on vacation and he was in town for the Broadway production Movin’ Out. They literally “bumped” into each other in a hotel lobby, and eventually began dating. The couple’s relationship blossomed in the Hamptons — one of their first dates was at Della Femina in East Hampton — and two years later they
Katie Lee Joel Chef married at his Centre Island estate, where his daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, served as maid of honor. With regard to the 33-year age difference, she said, “He’s very immature for his age, but he’s a rock star so he’s allowed to be. And I’m
they continue to reside in North Haven — a peaceful retreat they call home. Joel, a “beach girl” during the summer months, also takes pleasure in cooking for friends and family in the Hamptons, especially Billy. “He loves my meatloaf, but in the summertime it’s the peach cobbler. I only make it in the summertime when the peaches are in season, so he’s already chomping at the bit,” she said. Last summer, Joel put her culinary skills to work as the chef for her husband’s star-studded Social Ross School concert, where she prepared a menu that, of course, included her favorite southern comfort food. Guests included Kelly Ripa, Mary-Kate Olsen, Renée Zellweger and Adam Sandler. “That night was one of the best nights of my summer. It was like Joel family dinner theater. I cooked, he performed. It felt like we were in our backyard,” she said. In addition to cooking for the concert audience, Joel has prepared meals for and with many celebrities along the way, but has not met East Hampton’s celebrity chef, Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, who she greatly admires. “I think Ina’s really talented and her cookbooks are very inspiring. I’d love to have lunch with her,” she said. Although she has yet to land her own cooking show, it may be in her future, as Joel is no stranger to the small screen. She hosted the first season of Bravo’s hit reality series “Top Chef,” appears as a correspondent on “Extra,” and has served as a judge on The Food Network’s “Iron Chef America.” And it was announced this month that she would be a regular contributor on the CBS “Early Show,” an opportunity she’s “thrilled” about. Joel, who received a degree in English and journalism from Miami University in Ohio, contributes weekly to Hamptons magazine in her column “Katie’s Kitchen” and also is a blogger on huffingtonpost.com. Joel will be spending much of this summer on the East End doing what she loves. In August, she will demonstrate her cooking skills at the Loaves & Fishes cooking school at the Bridgehampton Inn, where she will cook recipes from The Comfort Table, including fried green tomatoes with remoulade sauce, the hoppin’ John salad, apricot-glazed braised pork chops, green bean casserole, and her famous peach cobbler. And while still on a book tour
With regard to the 33-year age difference, she said, “He’s very immature for his age, but I’m mature for my age. So we meet in the middle.” very mature for my age. We meet in the middle. It just works.” The couple purchased an oceanfront Sagaponack estate from the late Roy Scheider last year, and plan to move in by early fall when renovations are complete. But for now,
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