Pictured above: First Harvest 2014 Early Announcement Chefs
(Left to right: Blaine Wetzel, Albert Adria, Joshua Skenes)
Albert Adria, named by TIME Magazine one of the 13 most-influential persons in the world of gastronomy in 2013, continues the international flavor that has established First Harvest at The Willows Inn on Lummi Island as one of the top dining events in the world.
Adria began his career at the world-renowned restaurant elBulli and co-founded its menu-creating culinary laboratory, elBullitaller, in 1998 with his brother Ferran Adria and Oriol Castro. After 23 years, Albert Adria left in 2006 and since has accumulated numerous awards as a chef, director, and author involved in culinary events all around the globe.
He operates five establishments. Both his movie-themed tapas restaurant Tickets and upscale cocktail bar 41° Experience have earned Michelin Star ratings. The others: Pakta (Peruvian-Japanese fusion), Bodega 1900 (Catalan tapas), and Yauarcan (Mexican).
In San Francisco, one of America’s elite dining centers, Skenes carries strong award-winning credentials He traveled a path similar to Chef Wetzel; as each earned Best New Chef recognition by Food & Wine Magazine–Skenes in 2011, and Wetzel in 2012.
Skenes co-owns and serves as executive chef of Saison, a Michelin Two-Star establishment in San Francisco’s South of Market District (SOMA). Previously, after graduating from the French Culinary Institute in New York City, he worked at high-end dining places of Boston and in California locales.
Wetzel, co-owner of The Willows Inn on Lummi Island, plans to announce more marquee names to the First Harvest team when reservations open in May. His expanding reputation has enabled him to draw top-tier names that have made First Harvest one of the foremost culinary happenings around the world for three years in a row
Past chefs participating included Grant Achatz, Sean Brock, Kyle Connaughton, Dominque Crenn, Jason Fox, Christopher Kostow, John Shields, and Justin Yu from across the U.S., and internationally Kobe Desramaults from Belgium and Virgilio Martinez from Chile.