This winter, Laura White and Robert Kendall are turning the Hamptons open house into something warmer, more social: “Warm Up Wednesday”—a weekly open house series paired with soup from Plate in Progress, a Hamptons-based private chef with a genuine local and culinary pedigree.
The upcoming Warm Up Wednesday will take place on Wednesday, January 21st, from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. at 2 Hampton Park Road in Southampton (formerly 473 North Sea Mecox Road). The Soup of the Day will be Chicken Noodle, perfect for a mid-winter pick-up.
Soup at an open house is a strategic move. It slows everyone down. Brokers and buyers linger longer, conversations get easier, the house feels less like a showroom and more like a setting. Laura says the food is the lens, “The kitchen is the heart of the Hamptons home and if you see people gathering and enjoying great food, you can really see and feel how the home is to live in.”
The culinary brains behind Plate in Progress is Chef Juliana White, who is Hamptons homegrown through and through. She grew up here, honing her culinary skills early with encouragement from her mother, and her first job was at a local farm stand. After working at multiple restaurants frequently featured in the Best 100 Restaurants in New York City, Chef Juliana returned to the Hamptons during COVID-19.
Real Hamptonites will remember Chef Juliana’s Soup from COVID days. And yes, the soup is back and better than ever. Since she has built a private-chef career that gets locked up come July, driven by word-of-mouth but also her inclusion in NY Magazine’s 2025 Hamptons Whisper List.
What I mean to say is: If you haven’t been able to book this chef in the summer, now is your chance to taste why. And, yes, seconds are allowed.
Laura adds, “What I really like about Warm Up Wednesday is that the brokers take the time to chat and we actually foster a warmer relationship. It’s not a rush. It’s a really great way to connect with other agents and meet new faces!”
Chef Juliana White put it plainly: “These are the types of kitchens that make life a breeze for chefs — love the opportunity!” And that’s the point: these aren’t staged-for-photos kitchens. They’re working kitchens—designed for actual living, actual entertaining.
Recently featured soups included Pozole at 142 Towd Point, Southampton and White Bean at 57 Palmer Street, Sag Harbor—so, so, so good. It had that rare combination of cozy and polished: hearty without being heavy, simple but not basic. Next week’s soup hasn’t been announced yet, but Laura and Robert are leaning into the fun of it: soon, attendees will have a say, with a poll at the open house, allowing guests to vote on future soup options.
In a season when the Hamptons can feel quieter, Warm Up Wednesday gives locals and visitors a reason to pop in, gives serious buyers a more natural way to experience a home, and gives everyone else a small, welcome reminder that the Hamptons is still at its best around the kitchen.
