Specialty Of The House: Alison by the Beach, Sagaponack

"People think cooking is about creativity. If I have 10 minutes of creativity in a day, I feel lucky," Rick Jakobson said.

Mr. Jakobson, the chef at the highly acclaimed Alison by the Beach in Sagaponack, has nevertheless become known for his artful cuisine and a style he describes as "simple cooking."

The creative moments, and there are a few, are "something I can't explain," he said. "It's something I can't control. It's something that just happens."

"I like cooking because it uses [. . .] the senses - taste, smell, color, touch."

And cooking, he claims, is the only thing he knows how to do. The onetime Brown University student left college without graduating and later went to the Ecole Superiore de Cuisine Francaise. He stayed on in France for four and a half years, honing his skills in everything from tiny bistros to Michelin one, two, and three-star restaurants.

"In France cooking is an art, it's not commercial. It's old-fashioned artisanship. In New York it's a business."

When he returned to the States, he sought out a spot where the culinary culture shock wouldn't be too great and found a position at Daniel, a French gem on New York's Upper East Side. After a few years there he moved downtown to Bouley.

His position at Alison by the Beach was to be a sort of summer vacation. "I thought I would be going to the beach every day. I'd buy a beach chair," he said. When he was unexpectedly bumped up to head chef in the restaurant's first weeks, all that changed. Serving 1,100 to 1,200 dinners a weekend meant little, if any, free time. "I never bought a beach chair, I never made it to the beach."

Still he found something working at a country restaurant that he hadn't known in Manhattan. Though the kitchen at Alison by the Beach is very small, its windows look out over Sagaponack's farm fields and let loads of light in. "Even in the long days in summer, just to see the sunset, the sky, is something I enjoy," he said.

After a year and a half at Alison by the Beach, he said, he realizes people like what he does, and he has heard his share of compliments. But, he said, "I don't listen to it. You have to listen to the little voice inside you. You know when you're cooking well and when you aren't."

Mr. Jakobson is modest about his talents, but ambitious too. By his account, he's just now coming into his own. Despite the positive reviews and celebrity clientele that Alison draws, one of the first things he'll tell you is that it should be even better.

"The worst insult is when somebody tells me the food is okay, because they deserve more than that. . . . I like it when the customers are happy. Going out should be fun; people don't have enough fun in their lives."

Rick Jakobson's Oysters on the Half Shell

With Ginger Mignonette Granit‚

Ingredients:

16 oysters

10 oz. rice wine vinegar

5 oz. simple syrup*

4 Tbsp. finely chopped shallots

1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger

1 tsp. whole black peppercorns, crushed

Simple syrup:

1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water, brought to a boil and cooled

Method:

Mix rice wine vinegar, simple syrup, shallots, ginger, and peppercorns. Freeze in a shallow pan for about three hours.

Scrape frozen granit‚ with a fork. Store in freezer until ready to use.

Serve in the shell with shucked oysters.

Serves four people with granit‚ to spare.