Photo courtesy North Fork Chocolate & Eatery.
Even by chefs’ standards, Chef Steven Amaral is a busy, busy man. He has just added importer to his CV.
North Fork Chocolate is owned by Amaral and Ann Corley. Last year they closed their Aquebogue location and expanded into two outlets in Mattituck (8700 Main Road) and Riverhead (309 East Main Street). This year already “Chef Steve” has launched a new business within the stores— Fresh Greens & Spice LI offers the freshest spices direct from Sri Lanka, plus, coffee and Ceylon tea. “People love being able to get spices so fresh right here,” he says. Chef Steve has renamed his “North Fork Chocolate Company” business “North Fork Chocolate & Eatery” as his popular shop and restaurant on Riverhead’s Main Street is the only full-service vegetarian restaurant on the East End. And it has just expanded its vegan and gluten-free offerings this week. New dishes making their mark on the scene include: Mango BBQ Grilled Tofu Bowl; Portobello Mushroom BLT; Almost Beef & Mushroom Stew; Red Lentil & Chickpea Soup.
The new menu launched right after one of Chef Steve’s busiest holidays, Valentines Day. Easter and Mother’s Day are also huge at North Fork Chocolate. And then there’s the annual blowout of the Christmas season.
Chef Steve and North Fork Chocolate have long produced a lot more than their original chocolate. Some of their stone-grown chocolate, and their desserts, are sold wholesale to customers across the East End including Sant Ambroeus (chocolates), and 75 Main (desserts), both in Southampton, and the Milk Pail Fresh Market (chocolates and other treats) in Water Mill.
Original photographs by Barbara Lassen are currently on view at the North Fork Chocolate’s Riverhead location, alongside Chef Steve’s one-of-a-kind paintings. North Fork Chocolate’s Mattituck store devotes a room to a host of local artists and artisans.
What’s next up Chef Steve’s sleeve? There’s talk of him collaborating on a vegan cookbook…Follow North Fork Chocolate on Instagram for all of Chef Steve’s latest creations and offerings @northforkchocolate
Hailing from Manorville, Barbara Lassen is best known for her gorgeous photography featured in The Hamptons Kitchen (Norton). This best-selling cookbook and guide to the East End by Bridgehampton’s Hillary Davis and Sag Harbor’s Stacy Dermont, was released during the height of the pandemic. It has just gone into its second printing.
“I’m so excited by peoples’ reaction to the first book I shot! I get so many great questions and I’ve had so many requests for related images, I’ve had some of my work blown-up and printed on canvas and some food shots reproduced on notecards—so people can take it home,” says Lassen. “It’s thrilling to me knowing that people are looking at my work every day in their kitchens and living rooms.” Best known for her portraiture business, Barbara Lynne Photography, Lassen served as the longtime photo editor for Dan’s Papers, so you’ve often seen her—and her two cameras—at red-carpet events.
The Hamptons Kitchen is available wherever books are sold.
Chef Steve Amaral paints every day—sometimes on artisanal chocolate and sometimes on large canvases. His work is often informed by his travels. In addition to both forks of Long Island, Amaral has lived and worked in Hawaii and California. “I don’t paint from photographs, I create from what I see in my head,” he says. “Sometimes it’s a dream I had the night before—abstract. I’m inspired by the people I meet and the rich farming culture of the North Fork every day,” he says.
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