My Life’s A Trip: Lummi Island in 21 Bites
Chef Blaine Wetzel has put The Willows Inn on Lummi Island on the Pacific Northwest’s culinary map. Wetzel, a native of Washington state, has an impressive number of awards to his name considering he’s barely 30. He was named Food & Wine’s Best New Chef in 2012, and...
Luggage Tag… Sleepover at The Willows Inn
When my friend Aaron said he was coming up from LA and wanted to eat at The Willows Inn on Lummi Island, I of course agreed to go. My first meal there had been back in 2011 and was lovely, my second meal in 2012 was a pretty spectacular chef event the restaurant was...
One Eclectic Guy – Lummi Island 2016
Last Christmas my present was a long weekend at the Willows Inn on Lummi Island in Puget Sound to be taken at some future date. Well, that date finally arrived last week. The Willows Inn has become a destination for foodies and tables are booked months in advance. So...
The Bend Bulletin – Remote Washington restaurant is one of best in world
LUMMI ISLAND, Wash. — The most acclaimed restaurant in the Pacific Northwest is not in Portland or Seattle, but on a remote island in the Salish Sea just 30 miles south of the Canadian border. The Willows Inn was honored in 2015 as the Northwest’s best restaurant by...
binNotes – Slouching Towards Lummi Island
Life on an island has its own rhythms. Rhythms tied to the tides, the seasons, the people. People return to Willows Inn on Lummi Island like salmon return to a favored spawning ground – because it’s part of their DNA. Some families return annually, generation after...
Foragers Blog – WSJ+ CHEF’S TABLE – DINNER WITH BLAINE WETZEL
Every speaker that comes to The Chef’s Table is renowned in the food industry but varies greatly from each other. Chef Blaine Wetzel, who visited us all the way from Washington last Tuesday, was no different. While Dan Barber focused on fixing our food system and Tom...
call me a food lover… Swept away on Lummi Island at the Willows Inn
I never gave Lummi Island much thought before I saw that it was one of the 10 restaurants that the New York Times listed as “worth a plane ride for” in 2011. Sure, I’d seen Lummi Island on sign posts on drives between Vancouver and Seattle, and I knew that it was an...
This Is My Northwest – Unearthing the Magic of Willows Inn
THE ISLAND I-5. Exit 260. Lummi Island. Someday…someday. That was it. I had driven past that exit one too many times. I had read too many articles since 2011 about the Willows Inn and master chef Blaine Wetzel’s culinary magic. I had heard far too many “you MUST go,...
The Robot Must Eat – Remarkable Dinner at the Willows Inn (Lummi Island, WA)
Since reading about Blaine Wetzel at The Willows Inn a few years ago (a good article, from earlier in its existence before he’d won the James Beard award), I’ve always wanted to eat there, but getting to a restaurant on a small island a three hour drive and ferry ride...
The Grand Gelinaz! Shuffle
On July 9, 2015 the Willows Inn on Lummi Island participated in The Grand Gelinaz! Shuffle. This was the first-ever global collaboration of 37 of the world’s best chefs to participate in an unprecedented, worldwide restaurant swap, sponsored by San Pellegrino U.S.A....
Junebug Weddings – Early Summer Wedding at The Willows Inn
In a uniquely printed Mara Hoffman gown, Rachel exchanged vows with Daniel at The Willows Inn on Lummi Island. The outdoor ceremony was followed by an intimate dinner made fresh at the venue’s restaurant. Michèle M. Waite Photography captured the exquisite cuisine as...
Kim + Craig – Willows Inn – Part Deux
Craig was encouraging me to think about what I wanted to do to celebrate my birthday, even though it was months away. I always use it as an excuse to eat some great food, but this year was a milestone I wasn’t quite ready to admit to. So it required something extra...
StarChefs.com – Chef Blaine Wetzel of Willows Inn – Lummi Island, WA
Photos of Chef Blaine Wetzel of Willows Inn - Lummi Island, WA
Randon Eating Adventures – Lummi Island – Willows Inn
Dinner at Willows Inn was incredible. It started with some snacks on the deck before moving into the restaurant for the main part of the meal. Everyone from the kitchen brought out dishes which gave us a great opportunity to discuss the food and ask questions about...
Seattle Refined – A Chat With James Beard Winner, Blaine Wetzel
It’s been one heck of a year for Blaine Wetzel, the chef of Lummi Island’s Willows Inn, and it’s only May—the acclaimed restaurant is just barely getting into its busy season. Since the beginning of the year, an idea of his was turned into a worldwide restaurant event...
Mon Petit Seattle – Willows Inn, a total escape
The first time I heard from the Willows Inn was 4 years ago, in 2011. I read an article in New York Times listing “10 restaurants worth a plane ride” and among them… lucky us here in Washington state, was this restaurant I had never heard of before: Willows Inn on...
Eater – Blaine Wetzel Wins James Beard Best Chef Northwest
Blaine Wetzel has had a traumatic year with his partner's accident in Paraguay (fiancé Raquel Ruiz Diaz was hit by a drunk driver in early March and critically injured), but bright news from the James Beard Foundation tonight. Wetzel just took home the JBF's Best Chef...
Travel + Leisure – Washington’s San Juan Islands: an Ideal Tour
The San Juan Islands and their neighbors in Washington State’s Salish Sea are a place out of time. Shane Mitchell boards the ferry to find the artists, chefs, and urban refugees who live within this archipelago, at a speed of their own choosing. 'Great day for a boat...