The stars (and even a full moon) aligned for an enchanted dinner party at the home of Jessica Romm Perez in Amagansett, NY. Jessica, editor-at-large for Domino and VP of Partnerships at The Expert, is one of those hosts who somehow makes entertaining look effortless, so we asked her to share her secrets.
Inspired by a recent trip to Mallorca and Menorca, as well as the local fishing community in nearby Montauk, Jessica gathered friends to enjoy a seafood-focused menu featuring fresh clams, tuna crudo, prawns, and salads. “This is the kind of really delicious, fresh, clean food that I crave in summer. It doesn’t take a lot of preparation – the ingredients speak for themselves,” says Jessica.
Keeping it simple
“I love to entertain, but I’m often pressed for time, so I’ve learned to enlist help when I need it,” says Jessica. She worked with one of her favorite NYC restaurants, Cervo’s, and chef Nick Perkins to plan the menu and prepare the food, and she asked her friend Kate Berry, chief creative officer of Domino, to arrange the loose, easygoing bouquets.
“I think the secret to a great dinner party is the guest list,” says Jessica. “For my job and in life in general, I love connecting people.” For this dinner, she invited friends living or visiting nearby who share her passion for design, including Jenna Lyons and fashion designer Jessie Randall.
Fresh from the sea
White Prawns a la Plancha, a Spanish tapas staple, conjured flavors of the Balearic coast, along with Tuna Crudo with Basque Peppers, and Manila Clams with Vinho Verde. “I’ve gotten really into making crudo with super-fresh, raw fish and some olive oil – it’s easy to make and people love it,” says Jessica.
Fresh from the garden
Kate Berry mixed farmstand dahlias with hydrangeas, bayberry, and wildflowers snipped from the backyard to create loose, unstudied arrangements in a simple palette of white and green. Jessica likes to fill a large vintage Wally Guhl cement planter with a bed of ice as an eye-catching way to serve clams or oysters.
Fresh pours
Jessica served wine and two specialty cocktails: Cervo’s 50/50 Gin Martini with Lustau Blanco Vermouth and a Mezcal White Negroni with Acha Blanco Vermouth. Elevated planters from DWR served as clever coolers for Cervo’s selection of wines from Spain and Portugal, including sparkling Sousa Brut Nature, dry and bright Bohigas Xarel-lo, and Catalonian Pomagrana Trepat, a light red that’s served chilled.
“I like things that are minimal effort with maximal impact. Food that feels abundant but isn’t complicated and menus that aren’t so much work that you can’t enjoy your own party.” — Jessica Romm Perez
Choreograph the
flow
“This house is all about being outside,” says Jessica. “It’s a small 1,500-square-foot cottage with a big lawn, pool house, and barn. We always start parties with cocktails by the pool, and that’s also where we end up at the end of the night, listening to music and dancing. It’s a dreamy oasis, with beautiful wisteria growing over the pergola. We chose Finn outdoor furniture for the pool area. It has that classic California modern vibe – very sculptural, very thin, with clean lines that work well there.”
Create a communal
table
“There was an old, crumbling bluestone patio outside the barn which we covered with stones to create a pebble court with string lights for a European feel,” says Jessica. “We have two sturdy teak Terassi Tables and Benches out there, plus a third by the pool that we bring over for big, communal dinners like this one. We serve food family-style, and I like having benches so people can get up and move around during the meal. The outdoor furniture is an extension of the vibe we have inside the house – good design that’s really comfortable.”
