Part culinary adventure, part serious cookbook, Sea and Smoke chronicles the plucky ambition of a young chef to establish a world-class dining destination in an unlikely place.
A native of the Pacific Northwest, two-time James Beard winning chef Blaine Wetzel saw Lummi Island, a rugged place with fewer than 1,000 residents off the coast of Seattle, as the ideal venue for his unique brand of hyperlocalism. Sea and Smoke is a culinary celebration of what is good, flavorful, and nearby, with recipes like Herring Roe on Kelp with Charred Dandelions and Smoked Mussels creating an intimate relationship between the food and landscape of the Pacific Northwest.
The smokehouse, the fisherman, and the farmer yield the ingredients for unforgettable meals at The Willows Inn, a reflection of Wetzel's commitment both to locally-sourced ingredients and the sights, smells, and tastes of the foggy, coastal environment of Lummi Island. Award-winning journalist Joe Ray tells the tale of the Inn's rise to stardom, documenting how all the pieces came together to make a reservation at Wetzel's remote restaurant one of the most sought-after in the world.