Taylor May is the Chef Behind Miss May’s Kitchen and Bar
There is a moment Taylor May describes that says a lot about how she thinks about food.
She is walking the fields at KK’s The Farm in the early morning, picking out produce she has watched grow. A few hours later, she is plating that same food and setting it in front of a guest. “There aren’t many places where you can experience that kind of direct connection between the land and the plate,” she says.
That connection — between place, ingredient, and the person sitting down to eat — is the thread running through everything Taylor does at Miss May’s Kitchen and Bar.
A North Fork Career, Built from the Ground Up
Taylor May did not arrive at North Fork Resort with a resume built somewhere else. She built her career here, on the East End, across kitchens and bars and farm fields that most guests never see.
Her time as a farm hand at KK’s The Farm changed how she approaches every ingredient that comes through the kitchen. “When you’ve spent time planting, harvesting, and caring for produce, you become much more intentional about how you use it and much less willing to waste it,” she says. That intentionality shows up on the Miss May’s menu in the way dishes change with the season, follow what is available locally, and reflect a genuine relationship with the farms and producers just down the road.
She also spent time at Silver Lyan in Washington, D.C., one of the most acclaimed cocktail bars in the country, an experience that reshaped how she thinks about hospitality. “Silver Lyan taught me that hospitality is about creating memorable experiences, not just serving great food or drinks,” Taylor says. “I brought that mindset back with me — thinking about how every menu item, drink, and guest interaction contributes to the overall experience.” It is a perspective that informs everything from how a dish is named to how a cocktail is poured.
The North Fork Community Is Part of the Menu
Ask Taylor what keeps drawing her back to the North Fork and she does not talk about scenery. She talks about people.
“It’s a small industry out here, and there’s a real sense that we’re all in it together,” she says. “Whether it’s calling another chef because you ran out of an ingredient in the middle of service, texting someone after a busy weekend to see how things went, or sharing ideas over a drink after work, there’s a level of support that you don’t find everywhere.”
That web of relationships — with farms, wineries, fishermen, and fellow restaurateurs — is not background detail. It shapes the Miss May’s menu directly. Local sourcing means the menu changes with the seasons. It means guests get a genuine taste of what is growing and being caught and made on the North Fork right now, not a static list designed to stay the same from April through October.
“Being able to source ingredients close to home means our menu changes with the seasons and gives guests a true taste of the North Fork,” Taylor says. “Everyone wants to see each other succeed because when one business does well, it helps strengthen the entire community.”
Food, Cocktails, and the Space Between Them
Taylor has spent her career moving between kitchens and bars, and at Miss May’s, that dual fluency shows up in a program where food and cocktails are genuinely designed to work together.
“I don’t see them as separate,” she says. “The best dining experiences happen when food and drinks complement one another. Sometimes a cocktail inspires a dish, and sometimes a dish inspires a cocktail.”
The North Fork wine country plays into this as well. Surrounded by some of Long Island’s finest producers, Miss May’s treats local wine as part of the experience rather than an afterthought. “We love introducing guests to local wines and helping them discover producers they may not know,” Taylor says. “It adds another layer to the experience and connects guests to the region.”
And the menu names themselves? Those are intentional too. “Food should be fun,” Taylor says. “Before a guest takes a bite or sip, they’re reading the menu, and that’s an opportunity to make them smile. I like names that tell a story, create curiosity, or reflect the personality of the resort and our team.”
The Regulars and the First-Timers
One of the things that makes Miss May’s feel different from a restaurant you drive to is who is in the room.
North Fork Resort has a community of owners who return season after season. Over time, Taylor and her team get to know them — their favorite dishes, their favorite drinks, their families, the rhythms of their seasons. “You get to know them, learn their favorite dishes and drinks, hear about their families, and really build relationships over time,” she says.
At the same time, every weekend brings guests discovering the resort for the first time. “It’s a unique balance. It keeps every season interesting and gives us the opportunity to create lasting relationships while constantly welcoming new people into the North Fork Resort family.”
That mix — familiar faces and new arrivals, regulars and first-timers — gives Miss May’s a warmth that is hard to manufacture. It is the natural result of a place where people come back.
What a Perfect Evening Looks Like
Taylor’s description of a perfect evening at Miss May’s does not start with a dish. It starts with a feeling.
“A perfect evening starts with guests relaxing and feeling like they’ve escaped their daily routine,” she says. “They’re enjoying great food, great drinks, conversation, and the atmosphere. By the time they leave, I want them to feel like they experienced something uniquely North Fork.”
What makes that possible, she says, is the way Miss May’s fits into the larger resort experience. Guests do not need to get in a car. They can spend the afternoon by the pool, sit down for dinner, catch live music after the meal, and end the evening at the bar without leaving the property. “The experience flows naturally from one part of the resort to the next,” Taylor says.
That is not an accident. It is what Taylor, now in her role as Food and Beverage Director, is building toward — a program where the kitchen, the bar, the music, and the setting work together as a single experience rather than separate offerings.
“Stepping into the role of Food and Beverage Director has given me the chance to help shape not just the menu, but the entire guest experience across the resort,” she says. “It’s an exciting challenge and one that I’m incredibly grateful for.”
Miss May’s Kitchen and Bar is open to all resort guests throughout the season. Reserve your stay at nfresort.com and make Miss May’s part of your North Fork weekend. Follow Miss May’s Kitchen and Bar on Instagram at @missmaysnf.
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