Mario Pecoraro And Chris Arlotta, Foodies At Heart

Photo by Tom Fitzgerald and Pam Deutchman / www.society-in-focus.com Mario Pecoraro and Chris Arlotta at the 11th Annual Hamptons Happening Benefit for The Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation in July.

Chris Arlotta and Mario Pecoraro live in Water Mill. They are the owners of Arlotta Food Studio which specializes in organic olive oils, and Arlotta by Chris Arlotta, a cashmere collection. Below Chris Arlotta tells us about their companies, their support of the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation, and some of their favorites things to do in the Hamptons. Where in The Hamptons is home? And what are some of your favorite places to go in The Hamptons? We live in Water Mill, and love the serene horse country and farm ambiance where we live, combined with being a short distance from the beaches. We really enjoy Flying Point and Mecox beach, with bay and ocean, and taking our dog Giacomo with us to watch the sunsets! We so love our property and are blessed to enjoy our special "Shangri-La." Living full time in The Hamptons, we enjoy so many of the great restaurants, such as The East Hampton Grill, Osteria Salina, Bridgehampton Inn, Nick & Toni's, Bell & Anchor and Bobby Vans. Sant Ambroeus has the best espresso and cookies! We also love to try new restaurants each season such as Circo.

Tell us about Arlotta Food Studio: Arlotta Food Studio is a Hamptons based company, launched here. It was our goal to bring our certified organic olive oils and balsamic vinegars direct to consumers through presenting our products at over 23 farmers markets across Long Island per week, wonderful gourmet shops, and local farm stands, and of course on our website www.arlottafood.com. With Mario at the helm, our family business includes my brother John, who is a marketing guru, and our partners on our farm in northern California, where each and every bottle of oil is first cold pressed, with early harvest and natural flavored infusions we created. I suppose I can easily say we are the "preferred olive oil of The Hamptons!" We also have been chosen by SYSCO, one of the largest distributors to restaurants and chefs, to be one of the featured products they distribute. We also prepare unique artisanal tapenades and pastas. I guess it is easy to see we are foodies at heart. We love the nature and elegance of our surroundings. That is a reflection in all of our products.

Where are some locations that our readers can find your organic olive oils and balsamic vinegars? Farmers markets in The Hamptons are located in Montauk, East Hampton, Sag Harbor, Springs, Bridgehampton, Southampton and across the island. Our stores are Loaves & Fishes in Bridgehampton, Red Horse Market in East Hampton, Hampton Seafood, Sparkling Pointe in Southold, Milk Pail, Buhimi Farm Stand, Green Thumb Market in Water Mill, Eli's Manhattan and of course through our website www.arlottafood.com, of which we have free shipping until December! Tell us about Arlotta by Chris Arlotta cashmere collection: Arlotta Cashmere by Chris Arlotta is a designer brand in major departments stores and specialty stores nationwide for 20 years. Specializing in cashmere robes, lounge wear, slippers and top of bed blankets, throws, and decorative pillows including travel cashmere. Arlotta cashmere stands alone with a niche we own in the stores for our luxurious lounging collections of cashmere.

Where is Arlotta by Chris Arlotta sold? We can be found in our pop up stores in all Bloomingdales locations, Saks Fifth Ave, Bergdorf Goodman, Barneys, Soma, and other fine high-end lingerie and home stores nationwide. As a Fashion Institute of Technology graduate, I opened our first ateliers in Italy and France before bringing the brand full circle with our luxurious cashmere yarns from Inner Mongolia. Although we have many wonderful ecommerce customers, this year we will launch direct to consumer through our own website. Tell us about your involvement with the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation: We met Marion and Dr. Samuel Waxman four years ago and immediately felt the passion they have for finding a cure for cancer. That was the catalyst for both of us to want to be involved with the foundation. It was natural for us to join their committees for the SWCRF. I sit on the marketing committee and we both are Hamptons Happening committee members, which is one of the best events in The Hamptons for fundraising for cancer research. Through our friends and business associates in the Hamptons, we try to circle back to the work for finding a cure while enjoying the event that is most dear to our hearts. As it is a chef driven and super cool foodie event we participate as a vendor and fundraiser. Favorite summer dish: Our favorite summer dish in The Hamptons is all the local seafood, which we make as frutta de mare. Also the many gorgeous local vegetables simply grilled then with a drizzle of our blood orange olive oil, and fig balsamic vinegar, as well as Hamptons tomatoes with fresh basil, our basil infused olive oil, traditional balsamic, red onion, garlic, salt, pepper and a great crusty loaf of bread! Indeed a wonderful rosé wine sets the mood!

Favorite thing about summer in The Hamptons: What we like most about the summer in the Hamptons, is in fact the events that bring such a grand aura of fun while working for a good cause. We also love having small gatherings for dinner parties, and running to the beach for sunsets. After all, summer is a magical time in The Hamptons, everyone is relaxed, happy, willing to give, and to try to share and enjoy the life we have here. I do admit I love wearing white all summer too, in The very Hamptons style.