Why we love watching private chefs in the Hamptons
Certain things mark the unofficial start of summer: the first balmy night, a sticky popsicle, or a sandy trip to the beach. On TikTok, however, the season arrives with a “welcome to a day in my life as a private chef in the Hamptons.”
All summer long, videos posted by private chefs living and working in the Hamptons have captivated landlocked social media users. It’s easy to see why. These videos combine all of the things we love: aspirational kitchens that look ripped from a Nancy Meyers movie, delicious food we likely can’t afford, and a glimpse into a beachfront lifestyle more interesting than our own.
For those of us who are extremely online, there are now certain things we can rely on to denote the passage of time — like the great migration of private chefs to the Hamptons and the start of Bama Rush. Fans of these events have appropriated the language of reality television and morphed creators into quasi-stars. From the comfort of our beds, we watch chefs make food for the ultra-wealthy and create storylines in our heads. This season was no different.
Turning private chefs into reality TV characters
In June, Pamela Wurst Vetrini, a 39-year-old social media consultant in Alexandria, Virginia, began recapping #HamptonsChefTok through a weekly series of videos in which ranks the chefs in a Dance Moms-inspired pyramid. “I organized the content in an accessible way,” she explained to Mashable. “The pyramid where I rank the chefs has driven the competitive nature of the chefs, and they’ve played into the ‘reality show’ [of it] a lot.”
The private chefs often comment on Wurst Vetrini’s videos and some, like Seth Boylan, a 25-year-old private chef with The Culinistas agency, credit her videos with helping build their audience. “It’s my first summer out here, and within three weeks I had over 10,000 followers,” he told Mashable. “I didn’t have much back content that [viewers] could refer to, so I made it a priority to put something together to perform.”
Similarly, DyAnne Iandoli, a 31-year-old private chef and the culinary director of The Culinistas, told Mashable, “The Dance Moms pyramid definitely sparked the most traffic on my page, so I owe it to her for getting me so many views.”
It’s not just the “reality television” aspect of the content that has made these videos so alluring. This summer also saw a confluence of popular culture that has aided in their appeal. One of the buzziest books of the summer, The Guest by Emma Cline, never specifies its location as the Hamptons, simply referring to it as “out east,” but any astute reader can infer its haughty setting. Like the private chef videos, The Guest gives readers a look into the opulence of the Hamptons through the eyes of an outsider – the novel’s protagonist is a grifter.
The other piece of popular media driving interest in chefs is the second season of The Bear. “I have all my clients asking if I have watched The Bear,” explained Bri Marriott. “Chefs are super hotties right now. All of a sudden, the sex appeal for people who can cook food and make things taste good is off the charts.”
It’s not just sex appeal that keeps viewers coming back for more. It’s also the mystique of the Hamptons itself. As working-class chefs in ultra-rich spaces, they offer a more relatable look into the lives of the elite upper crust. “We give a little peek behind the super tall hedges,” explained Iandoli.
“You’re getting a lens into this lifestyle that is so unattainable, said Riley Meehan, one of the more popular private chefs on TikTok. “But through the eyes of somebody who is working while they’re out here.”
The performative reality of private cheffing
As with any niche subculture that erupts on social media, some things are lost in the translation from work to content.
Marriott, a 29-year-old private chef who posts hornier cooking videos – think heavy eye contact, fast chopping, and a well-placed wink – has mixed feelings about the reality TV-ification of her job. “I support the fact that [Wurst Vetrini] is blowing up the social media world of private chefs and showing what we do. But she’s basing people off of content,” she told Mashable.
The reality is that these private chefs all work under different circumstances, so evaluating them through the same criteria doesn’t always make sense. “I love all the chefs that she was rating,” said Marriott. “I’m friends with most of them. But the same people were at the top every week, and I don’t think that’s fair, especially when some of the chefs cook for maybe only four to six people [and] other chefs are doing 16 to 18 plated dinners.”
Between the immaculate kitchens, gorgeous equipment, and mouth-watering fresh produce, TikTok paints private cheffing as a sweet gig. Not to mention the material benefits of TikTok notoriety: brand deals, more clients, and publishing opportunities.
But private cheffing wasn’t always seen in such a positive light. “When I was in culinary school 10 years ago, private cheffing was seen as a cop out,” Iandoli said. “The restaurant world is so high-speed. It’s hot kitchens and a chef yelling in your face. [Being a private chef] was looked at as easier than restaurant cooking, but it’s since proven to be a very sought-after profession.”
Since the cohort of private chef’s videos feature endless cooking angles, smooth transitions, and idyllic ocean views, it’s easy to forget that chefs have to film, edit, and record voiceovers all while working long hours for their clients.
Meehan, who splits his time between Phoenix and the Hamptons, walked Mashable through his process of creating content for his nearly 400,000 TikTok followers. “Last night, I did a video of everything that I’m cooking for my clients for one dinner,” he explained. “I started filming at 3 p.m. and have probably 40-ish minutes of film to edit. I start a little earlier when I know I’m going to be filming because I’m going to be moving the camera and setting all that stuff up, which takes more time.” He considers content creation to be a second job.
While being turned into a character for the world to dissect based on the content you post about your job online might be strange, Juliana White, a 32-year-old private chef who grew up in the Hamptons, always felt like she was playing a character anyway.
“Being a private chef is a bit performative,” White said. “When you walk into somebody else’s kitchen in someone else’s house, you’re performing how you speak to them [and] how you clean up after yourself. You do all that differently if you’re in your own home, or in a restaurant kitchen. So performing isn’t necessarily new, it’s just new to also record it.”