#From fancy picnics to custom caviar: Inside the pandemic parties of the elite

Ryan Gleason refuses to let social distancing ruin his entire summer with his musician fiancée, Alexa Ray Joel.

“Normally we would be going out to dinner, going to Surf Lodge and doing bonfires on the beach,” said Gleason, 43, of his typical Hamptons season with the 34-year-old. Now, the couple have been holed up at the Sag Harbor compound of her mother, supermodel Christie Brinkley. (Alexa’s dad is Billy Joel.) “I’m doing a lot of fishing and gardening, and we bought chickens.”

But farm-fresh eggs aren’t going to cut it for date night.

“I wanted a surprise romantic picnic for two on a beach,” said Gleason, who owns four NYC bars and eateries, including the Paper Daisy in the East Village. He shelled out about $500 for a bespoke picnic in the sand, complete with prosecco, flowers, bug spray and spaghetti al pomodoro from Tutto il Giorno. “[Alexa] was so blown away,” said Gleason.

This summer, well-heeled city folks who fled upstate or to the Hamptons during the pandemic are making gourmet lemonade out of lemons — with the help of private chefs, caterers and event planners, of course.

Chef Cooper Thomas, 31, has been offering his services for $500 per day plus expenses, and was recently hired by a group of 18 friends for a weekend getaway in the Hudson Valley hamlet of Kerhonkson.

“All guests had to have had a COVID test in the past seven to 14 days,” said Thomas, who wears a mask and gloves while cooking his food, which customers serve themselves from a buffet.

“I brought a sous vide, a Cuisinart and a barbecue,” said the Williamsburg resident, who whipped up dishes including St. Louis-style baby back ribs, piri-piri chicken and a salad of peaches, heirloom tomato and burrata.

“Going to a restaurant isn’t the same experience now. Everyone’s wearing masks, there are crazy waits,” said Carlyn Vellante, who, along with her mother and sister, runs Destination Haus, an East Hampton home decor store that started advertising al fresco meals on Instagram last month.

“We wanted to make [outdoor dining] magical again,” said Vellante. “People are requesting these every week. And we’re picking up more day-of.”

The oceanside picnics start at $195 per person for a minimum of two people, not including flowers, booze or food, which Vellante will pick up from local vendors for an extra charge.

Guests can choose from the menus of local restaurants including the Crow’s Nest, which offers a $48 lobster fettuccine, or dim sum from Tiny Harbor.

“People have been doing a lot of sushi,” said Vellante, who scouts and claims secluded spots on the area’s public beaches.

She sets an elaborate scene using pillows and dinnerware from her store, including African tablecloths made from twigs and mud cloths, napkins imported from India and wine glasses hand-painted with 14-karat gold leaf.

And it would seem that people are even fancying up their DIY picnics. “We’ve restocked our bamboo place card holders four times,” said Westchester-based caterer Stephanie Nass of the $36 items she sells online. “There’s no theater or movies, and we can’t hop on a plane and go somewhere exotic. So we’re making something special in our home.”

Marky’s Caviar, an online fine food seller, has also seen a jump in sales, which are up 35 percent compared to last year. Beluga caviar that retails for $420 a jar, A-grade Japanese wagyu beef and caviar butter are all big hits said the brand’s spokesperson, with most deliveries going to the Hamptons and Westchester.

Meanwhile, Nass, whose events normally start at $5,000, has also been curating socially distanced parties that don’t sacrifice luxury. (Nass said that she’s “more flexible” about minimum price tags since COVID-19 hit.)

In July, she catered a caviar-tasting soiree in Westchester, but “each couple had their own platter of caviar.”

Soon, she added, “I’m doing a charity event where each couple will get a hand-woven wicker basket with all of the drinks and snacks inside. She plans on filling the baskets with bread sticks, cheese and wine — “all the good stuff you’d have on a cheese board, just individually portioned.

“After the event people, can use the basket to go to the beach or the farmers market,” said Nass. “I didn’t want to use a tote. It didn’t feel special enough.”