KDHamptons

KDHamptons: How long have you been living in the Hamptons?
Cathy Hartman: I came out to the Hamptons ten years ago so my children could attend The Hayground School and grow up in a less crowded, more beautiful and laid back environment. There is nothing not to love about this area, the natural beauty is unsurpassed and there is the perfect mix between small town living and NYC sophistication.

KDH: Tell our readers a bit about your company, Eco East End…
CH: www.ecoeastend.com is a marketing / PR website for all things green and local on the East End. www.farmtofrontdoor.com grew out of this website last year, an online farmers market that delivers.

KDH: What inspired you to launch the site ?
CH: I am passionate about living in a way that respects my health, the health of my family and of the planet. I was meeting so many wonderful and talented people and businesses on the East End with services and products that help live a “green” lifestyle so I wanted to help promote them and give our readers a place to go to get information and help in making better, healthier and smarter buying and lifestyle choices. Last summer we launched www.farmtofrontdoor.com, which is an online farmers market that delivers. It had a tremendous launch, and has been so satisfying to promote the local farmers and witness how excited our out-of-town summer residents get about the product.

KDH: Describe your perfect Hamptons day-to-night in detail?
CH: My perfect Hamptons day is what I do each day (in the summer). I start each day peeking into each of my kids bedrooms as they sleep before I take my coffee out to the deck to watch the light come up. I spend some time gardening and cleaning up the yard. I make the kids breakfast before I head off to yoga class, which I try to do everyday. I spend the middle of the day combining work with whatever my kids want to do or have on their agenda for the day. They spend a lot of time shopping and exploring the farmers markets with me. Around 5pm we start to pack up the dinner that we have collected from various markets and head to Sagg Main Beach where we meet our friends and build a big fire to cook our dinner. The kids all play and swim and adults set up our table and prepare dinner. We watch the sunset and stay at the beach most times until midnight talking around the fire.

KDH: Which is your favorite farm out East? Where do you acquire most of your produce?
CH: I could never choose a favorite farm. They are all amazing and each season they are different. One season the best tomatoes are at Babinski’s farm in Bridgehampton, the next they are at Pikes’ s in Sagaponack. That is why we started www.farmtofrontdoor.com because we taste, shop and source the best of the best local products and produce for our customers.

KDH: When will you start delivering your Farm to Front Door items this spring?
CH: Strawberry season kicks off our delivery service, that is usually mid May. Our goal for this year is to keep the online farm stand open year round because there are a lot of farmers growing in green houses now year round, and there are lots of products on our site that can be found year round, like the homemade pasta, cheese, drinks etc…

KDH: What is your best kept secret about the Hamptons?
CH: My best kept secret is the FishBar Restaurant on the water in Montauk. My favorite East End town is Montauk, even though I live out here, I still feel like I am on vacation when I go to Montauk. Jennifer, the Executive Chef at the FishBar sources fresh local fish right off the boats each morning.. Here is a pretty cool video of her morning ritual… www.freshlocalfish.com

KDH: What is your favorite Hamptons restaurant: Got a favorite dish and drink?
CH: Provisions Café in Sag Harbor has my favorite food on the East End. I also love any restaurant that uses fresh/local seafood, produce and wine. Nick & Toni’s [pictured left] in East Hampton, Little Estia’s Kitchen in Sag Harbor and Foodie’s in Water Mill do a great job in supporting our local farmers and emphasizing a “Eat Local” lifestyle. Both Nick & Toni’s and Little Estia’s Kitchen have their own backyard gardens and base their menus around what is fresh and available from the garden.

KDH: Do you have a most popular item? Are you prices more expensive than going to Citarella or gourmet markets because you deliver?
CH: The basics are our most popular items, tomatoes, basil, fresh mozzarella and corn. We had a customer call us from Florida last year, his Dad lived on the East End before retiring to Florida and was turning 80, his only request for his birthday was some East End corn and tomatos. We fedexed two dozen ears of corn and a bushel of tomatoes to him! A few of our other most popular items are the guacamole from the Country Market Farmstand and Ceaser Salad Dressing from Paul’s in Southampton. Our prices are on par with a gourmet shop~ except for the additional delivery fee~ but with us you are getting the best local produce on the market.

KDH: What is the greatest part about your job?
CH: The greatest part of my job is doing something that I am passionate about and having the freedom to be able to be with my kids and conduct business at the same time. I love the relationships I have formed with the farmers and all of our vendors. They all have amazing stories to tell and I love promoting them.

KDH: What are your plans for spring? Travel or staying out East?
CH: Spring is when our online farmers market www.farmtofrontdoor.com takes off so other than trips to NYC I stay put. Honestly, there is no where I would rather be this time of year anyway…..

*For more information go to www.ecoeastend.com or www.farmtofrontdoor.com