STIRRING THE POT: Holiday Pie Primer with Carissa’s Bakery

Fall Meringue Pie, photo courtesy of Carissa's Bakery.
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Learn how to make a beautiful pie with Carissa’s Bakery. Join us for this special bonus Stirring the Pot as we get an exclusive look at the new Carissa’s in Sag Harbor with this timely holiday pie primer.

Florence Fabricant, New York Times Food & Wine Writer will be in conversation with co-founder/Pastry Chef & Baker Carissa Waechter and head baker Denis Bernard, while they simultaneously present a Thanksgiving pie-making demo from start to finish so everyone can learn how to make a holiday pie, including the extra fancy step of making meringue for the more adventurous home baker.
 
Guests will have the opportunity to sample the final product and be entered into a drawing to win a pie. Everyone will also go home with a special Thanksgiving-themed gift courtesy of Citarella Gourmet Market. You do not want to miss this very special holiday pie primer with Carissa’s Bakery.
 
 

Carissa’s began with something as “simple” as baking bread and has evolved into a locally-minded kitchen and community hub. Within their counter-service, all-day bakery they sell European-style breads, viennoiserie, and vibrant cakes inspired by the surrounding flora, all baked on-site in their bright and sunny, modernist space. Their dishes are based on the principles of wholesome ingredients that honor the season, in addition to fresh juices and coffee.

Carissa’s practice living life responsibly. That means minimizing waste and use of plastics, and––through thoughtful sourcing––supporting the small growers and producers near us who prioritize organic and sustainable farming, fair trade practices, and overall transparency. For them, this recipe yields a more delicious, and healthful, outcome every time. Visit carissasthebakery.com.

2020 James Beard Foundation Outstanding Restaurant Design Awards

Carissa Waechter graduated Dean’s List from the Art Institute of New York City and began her culinary career under world pastry champion Michel Willaume. Following a decade of pastry chef experience in top NYC restaurants, including esteemed 4-star chef Daniel Boulud, Carissa followed the food trail to Amagansett, NY where she developed close relationships with local farmers while operating the Amagansett Farmers Market with Eli Zabar. 

She launched Carissa’s Breads in the spring of 2010 based upon locally grown and produced ingredients, and that same year she co-founded the Amagansett Food Institute, a nonprofit organization who’s mission is to support small-scale farmers and food producers on the east end of Long Island. 

Carissa managed AFI’s South Fork Kitchens in Southampton, where she produced her breads and baked goods before partnering with Lori and Alexandre Chemla in 2016  to expand the business into retail and open their first flagship bakery in East Hampton while continuing to wholesale across Long Island and NYC. 

After three busy years it was time to expand to a second retail location, and the business’ 221 Pantigo Road location opened in the Summer of 2019 as a 75 seat cafe, restaurant and bakery with a focus on locally-sourced produce from its long-standing partners on the East End. The newest location at 3 Bay Street in Sag Harbor opened in October 2022.

  • Florence Fabricant

    Florence Fabricant, a food and wine writer for the New York Times, contributes the weekly Front Burner and Off the Menu columns, is a member of the wine panel and writes the pairings column for the wine tastings. She frequently writes features that appear in the Food section and also covers food and travel elsewhere in the Times. She has written 13 cookbooks. This spring, her latest, The Ladies Village Improvement Society Cookbook: Eating and Entertaining in East Hampton" to celebrate the 125th anniversary of LVIS was published by Rizzoli. Other books include Wine with Food, based on the New York Times pairings columns and written with Eric Asimov and The City Harvest Cookbook, both published by Rizzoli. She actually began her career as a food writer in East Hampton, contributing the column In Season to the East Hampton Star. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Smith College, she has an M.A. in French from New York University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. She holds L’Ordre National du Mérite from the French government, is on the Board of Trustees of Guild Hall in East Hampton, N.Y., and is a member of Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America. (New York, NY). She and her husband, Richard, a retired lawyer, live in Manhattan and East Hampton, N.Y. They have two children and two grandchildren. 

Sponsors

Lead Sponsor: Ciuffo Cabinetry
 
Supporting Sponsors: Citarella and Landscape Details
 
Media Partners: PURIST and JAMES LANE POST
 
Special thanks to Lori Chemla, Carissa Waechter, and Michele VanNostran of Carissa’s Bakery.
 
Theater Programming supported in part by The Schaffner Family Foundation and funding from The Melville Straus Family Endowment. Music Programming is supported in part by The Ellen and James S. Marcus Endowment for Musical Programming.

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