You'll Love Visiting Orchard Kitchen, A Washington Restaurant Loaded With Local History
By Chris Muras|Published January 18, 2023
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Chris Muras
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Every adventure starts with a single step. And then another, and another, until you find yourself somewhere new and undiscovered. That’s the journey of a writer. You never know where the next word will take you. Hopefully, together, we can experience some amazing new adventures at OnlyInYourState.
Nestled in the Southern heart of Whidbey Island, Washington is a farm-to-table experience that will warm your heart just as much as it warms your tummy. Orchard Kitchen is an enchanting fine-dining restaurant that blends a rich farming history with a modern take on culinary artistry – all local, all fresh – sustenance for the soul. Just like food was meant to be.
Whidbey Island is the gem of Puget Sound, a stone's throw north of Seattle. Picturesque rolling hills, rich farmland, forests, beaches, and scenic wonders for days.
Chef Vincent Nattress was born and raised on Whidbey Island. After high school, he set out on a European adventure that would guide him down an exciting culinary path leading to an internship in a Michelin-starred restaurant in Provence, France.
Returning to the United States, he settled in the San Francisco Bay Area where he met his future wife Tyla, an accomplished restaurateur and wine maven herself. In 2001, they opened Roux, which would become an award-winning restaurant in San Francisco, California.
But Whidbey Island would always tug at Vincent’s heart like a sailboat itching to set sail and glide gracefully across Puget Sound.
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In 2011, Vincent and Tyla returned to Whidbey Island and found a tattered, falling-down barn set on five acres of land that used to be a hay and cattle farm in the 1920s.
They envisioned a place where guests could reconnect with food as a way to sustain themselves and the earth beneath their feet. Orchard Kitchen was born.
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More a dinner party than a restaurant, Orchard Kitchen is a chef-guided experience you will never forget. Seasonal offerings change from week to week based on what ingredients are ready to harvest on the surrounding farm.
While the gem of this experience is the outdoor dining set against the beautiful backdrop of the farm, there is also a cozy indoor dining area with an open kitchen, so you can see the masterful creations being made right before you.
One of your tasting experiences could be this lovely miso glazed black cod with a master's palate of shiso oil, sweet and spicy peppers, cucumbers, and green onion. A vibrant ponzu sauce (a citrus-based Japanese sauce with a tart-tangy flavor) sets off the dish both visually and gastronomically.
For dessert, you could be treated to something experimentally delicious like this take on the banana creme pie. However, your tastebuds will be surprised and delighted to discover this delectable dessert is made not with banana but with squash.
A chilled Walla Walla sweet onion soup with an artful dash of green onion powder. At center stage is an onion crisp, beautifully complemented with a vibrant purple borage flower. All edible, all delicious.
Each day, the sun sets like a ball of fire returning to the center of the Earth so that it warms the earth from within, just like your meal at Orchard Kitchen warms you.
As we learn to connect with our food from its source, we begin to understand a meal is more than simple sustenance. It is community; it is connection with ourselves as much as it’s a connection with the food that nourishes us.
When you spend time at Orchard Kitchen, you become part of the family. Part of the surrounding farm, and part of a bigger ecosystem that begins with a sprouting seed and ends with a full belly.
Have you ever experienced food from this kind of whole-body perspective? We’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences in a comment. And of course, if you are ever on the shores of Whidbey Island looking over a golden field of farmland, be sure to think about Orchard Kitchen and book a spot at its table.
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