Honeycomb Heritage

Caterer Agnes Devereux’s restored Colonial in Staatsburg

One of Agnes Devereux’s first catering experiences might have sent a lesser woman flying. “I catered my own wedding,” explains Devereux of the party in her former Boerum Hill loft. “It was stressful, especially because I got stung by a bee early in the day and didn’t realize I was allergic.” Devereux went into anaphylactic shock, promptly passed out, and then came to—blind. “The EMTs insisted on taking me to the emergency room,” says Devereux. “I told them, ‘Are you kidding? I have 100 people coming over, I can‘t go to the hospital!’ So I just waited for my vision to return and got married with a very swollen thumb.”

Photos by Winona Barton-Ballentine