Hetrick-Martin Institute’s Annual Hamptons Benefit

Martha Stewart cooks her traditional paella recipe for the annual School's Out benefit at the home of Galerie founder and editorial director Lisa Cohen

It was a night of artful entertaining at the home of Lisa Fayne Cohen, founder and editorial director of Galerie, and her husband James on the ocean in East Hampton, New York, this past Saturday. To raise funds for the Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI,) which offers support services and programs for LBGTQ youth from ages 18-24, there was not only a spirited “School’s Out” cocktail party on the estate’s front lawn but a VIP dinner to follow.

Lisa, who serves on the board of HMI, orchestrated the evening in collaboration with one of her own personal entertaining inspirations—Martha Stewart. For the dinner, Stewart shared her cooking techniques for traditional paella on a large outdoor grill. To serve the crowd of one hundred guests, Stewart even brought her own authentic Spanish paella pan from her home, which happens to be just down the road. But the dish isn’t all work—making paella is fun, as Stewart demonstrated while stirring with one hand and holding a glass of Wölffer rosé, which was generously donated by the Hamptons winery, in the other. The menu, executed by Pierre Schaedlin of PS Tailored events, included several other of Stewart’s summer favorites such as a duo of red and yellow gazpacho.

Long, linen-covered tables were set under the house’s portico and under a beautiful tent—accented with arrangements of hydrangea, dianthus, and allium bullet created by local florist Flowers by Beth.

After dinner, guests moved to the pool pavilion for a selection of delicious Martha-inspired desserts on cake stands. There, the party was offered a taste of very rare Hennessy Paradis Imperial cognac, which has notes of jasmine, orange blossom, and subtle smokiness.

The evening was cohosted by exercise guru Tracy Anderson, host of Fox 5’s GoodDay New York Rosanna Scotto, and Galerie editor Margaret Russell as well as co-chairs Ben Dixon and Bobby Graham. As the festivities drew to a close, fog rolled in off the ocean adding even more glamour to a perfect early summer evening.

See photos from the event here.

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