What kind of duck
are we going
to be hunting for
for tomorrow?
Well tomorrow we
are going to be
opportunistic.
Ho ho ho.
Which basically is if
it's a legal duck we're
probably gonna
shoot at it.
Here we come.
This is something that
I never see in Seattle.
A bald eagle.
Wherever that's
coming from.
Oh, wow, two of them.
I'm here in
the San Juan Islands,
a group of islands along
the Canadian border about
a hundred miles
north of Seattle.
All of this.
This is just a small
fraction of just
how beautiful
Washington is.
There's no fastfood
down here.
This is 100% the real
deal farm to table
because there's
the table and
there's the farm
right down the way.
You are living,
breathing island life,
365 days out of the year.
San Juan Islands.
Can't wait to
see what's next.
Lummi Island is a ten
minute right ferry ride
from the mainland and
home to the Willows Inn,
one of the top
destination restaurants
in the country and
arguably the world.
Yo guys,
I'm literally on a ferry
to go to Willows Inn.
I'm about to have
an amazing meal.
Oh, man,
I'm stoked right now.
Yeah.
Yeah, this is fresh.
How are you?
Much love, Chef.
How are you doing?
Hey.
It's an honor to
meet you man.
Definitely an honor
to meet you.
What sets this restaurant
apart is that award
winning chef, Blaine
Wetzel has designed
the entire menu using
only ingredients
that are grown or hunted
from the island and
from the waters
just off shore.
Before dinner, Chef
Blaine had taken me on
a tour of Lummi Island
to show me where he
grows and forages all of
his fresh ingredients.
This is our garden.
This one's just for
the restaurant.
We don't sell any
of the produce or
anything like that.
Right.
So we have a couple
full-time gardeners that
take care of
growing this.
We try and plan just
what we're gonna use at
the restaurant and then
use all that we grew.
And we grow 100% of
the produce that we use.
So that's part of what's
really unique about this
whole experience and
what we try and
showcase in the meal.
This is good,
I could eat that.
It's very rare to have
this like close circuit
of a garden like this.
It's almost
say insourcing
instead of outsourcing.
Yeah, everything.
Literally.
I've been around in
this since like
Kale chips.
Well it turns out in
order to have 20 or
30 perfect Kale
leaves every day, you
have to have two or three
hundred Kale plants.
This whole field
is just for
this one particular snack
that we've been doing.
As a snack, you're
growing all this just for
a snack.
We have the vegetable
part of it, so
let's talk about
your meat.
It's just like
a small family or
artesan farms here
on the island.
There's always been a lot
of people that grow their
own food here.
I like that.
An island full of
culinary family.
You're not getting
that in Seattle.
Now that I've
see his garden,
it's time to check out
where the magic happens.
This place is
hella clean guys.
This is how you
operate a kitchen.
You see how
clean this is?
My favorite word, clean.
My favorite two words,
clean kitchen.
This is damn near
what I want.
Like, this is like,
kind of it.
This is the arena I
would love to have.
This is the shit.
So this is something
that we're
just beginning to
experiment with.
Brackenthrow roots.
Bracken fernery, and
this is just another
one that's just
on the island?
These ones grow
all over here.
Natives would take
the roots and
I'll pound them out and
make a paste out of it.
I get a new ingredient
that I'm not
that familiar with.
I'll first taste it,
maybe raw, and
see how it tastes, and
then let the ingredient
itself guide how it might
end up on the menu.
But this is like a type
of tea that was used by
natives, Labrador tea?
At the tip of the tongue
it's just like pop man,
whoa!
Maybe we'll end up using
this not as a tea, but
as a chopped herb that
you add to a sauce or
in a broth or
any number of ways.
This could make
a great brine for
meat or an oil for
vegetables, whatever.
So it's at the beginning
of a new flavor.
Chef Blain's unique
approach to creating
flavors is represented
in all 19 dishes
on his briefy menu.
I better settle in
because according to
chef, I'm gonna be
here at least three
hours
This is
too good right now.
This is what Chef Blain
was talking about earlier
in the kale.
Creamy, toasty, crunchy.
This is ridiculous.
Oh my God.
Fresh-baked sourdough rye
bread served alongside
some chicken
pan drippings.
Chicken pan drippings.
Oh.
You guys okay over there,
cause I'm sorry, I'm
kind of losing my mind
over here a little bit.
I'm kind of losing
my mind right now.
I don't really have
a lot of words for it.
I haven't had,
I've had very few
words pretty much.
Oh my god.
Halibut's skin
wrapped with clams,
dusted with
dried seaweed.
Sunflower root with
onion puree rockfish.
Cube on seaweed,
smoked shiitake mushroom,
roasted chioggia beets,
delicata squash with
pine flavored cream.
Any time I ask
anyone what's
considered classic, first
word that comes out of
people's mouth so
far has been Salmon.
It's all about the fish,
lightly smoked, sweet,
that comforting sweet,
I mean perfect.
Each dish has three
to four ingredients,
no more than that.
But the number one thing,
it's from the soul,
Northwest soul.
That was the best meal
that I have ever had.
What?
What?
Now just because it's
sunny outside does not
mean it is warm outside.
It is cold as
shit out here.
After eating that once
in a lifetime meal,
I'm heading even deeper
into the sailor's sea to
Decatur Island, one of
the many tiny islands
that make up the San
Juan's, and it's only
accessible by water
taxi and private boats.
This is no ferry.
This is a boat
the size of my house.
And it's a small house.
Like Lummi Island,
Decatur embodies a true
farm to table lifestyle.
The difference is Decatur
is really freaking
remote.
It's a 40 minute rocky
boat ride away from
the nearest
grocery store,
hotel or restaurant.
So the residents
here mostly hunt or
grow their own food right
in their backyards.
I've been invited here
to check out this unique
island lifestyle and
eat like a local.
Starting with the main
course, fresh duck.
So, I'm meeting up with
Ed Fisher, resident duck
hunter to take me out for
my first hunt.
So, this one here,
this is a, falls into
the diving duck category.
It's a merganser,
a hooded merganser.
You've got a chance
at seeing these,
there's a few of these
out in the bank.
Ideally, we'll have
some mallards come by.
The big thing is not
move around too much.
So we might sit there for
three hours and never
lift the shotgun up.
Ducks can see color so
we have to blend in very
well to the shoreline.
Making a few clothing
adjustments just to make
sure that we got
the proper colors on.
A little less air.
She is stoked,
are you ready to go?
She loves to duck hunt.
It's like six in
the morning, and
I'm about to go
duck hunting.
We'll let a couple of
quacks go just to let
them know we're
over here.
It's three
minutes to 9:00.
A lot of times,
right around 9 o'clock,
9 to 9:30, the birds
will get antsy and
start moving a little.
There's one right there.
Yeah.
Stay Amber.
He got one!
Fetch!
Mallard are off again,
too.
Does she see it?
She'll find it.
Look at her!
Holy shit, that dog is
amazing! She saw it!
Holy smokes.
Good girl.
All right guys,
got yourself a meal.
So what do we have here?
We have a great
bufflehead.
We'll give you this
bird as your trophy and
it's gonna be a good
eating little bird.
Whoa.
Thank you.
Even though I didn't
do the actual kill.
Watching how it's done
is an experience that I
really don't have
a lot of words for.
And I have to say thank
you for just allowing me
to come down here and
do this with you.
You're welcome.
It was cold, but
man, it was fun!
Now that I've got the
bird in hand I'm gonna
take it over
to Gail Dupar,
who's invited me over for
dinner, along with a few
of her other neighbors.
I've heard some
pretty cool things
about this cook.
Another one of the
Decatur Island locals.
I'm fourth generation
here, on Decatur.
My great-grandparents,
they came here in 1907.
And they bought
this 500 acre farm.
When you're living on
an island like this,
you have to be able
to make good food.
Right.
Otherwise you're stuck
here right with cans,
open cans.
Yeah, we don't
want do cans.
Let's not do cans.
I guess you've
seen the duck
breast that Ed
brought me?
So, this is apple cider,
and ginger and garlic.
So, I just thought I'd
kind of give it a little
Asian flair to it.
And then,
what we're gonna do is,
I'm gonna take those
out of the brine,
pat them dry, we're
gonna let them rest, and
we're gonna seer them
in some duck fat,
because these wild duck
breasts have no fat.
So we're gonna make a
little moo shu vegetarian
dish to go with the duck
too, just in case.
You're one of my favorite
cooks right now.
Are you a recipe person?
I don't measure.
Okay, good, good,
good, good.
It's all by the eye.
Unless it's bread or
something.
Then you gotta measure.
Yeah, baking, then it's
gotta get all serious.
So what type of cooking
do you prefer to cook?
Or you say just
whatever comes to mind.
Whatever comes to mind.
Yes.
So, literally everything
that we are having
that we're eating,
having,
preparing is from
this island.
Pretty much, yes.
Pretty much, yes.
Here is, you have
to put in the work.
And you figure out who
has the best stock
pantries?
So you know you've,
if you need something you
can always call like a
neighbor or a friend and
say hey, you got this?
And nine times out
of ten you can
find it no problem.
This is our guest, Tark.
Hello.
Dinner party guest.
Tark, how you doing?
Nice to meet you.
Scott.
Scott.
And fox number two,
how are you doing?
Hey how you doing?
There's an expectation
that you'll be
self-sufficient.
Right.
But when push
comes to shove and
you need some help,
people will help.
For those of us that
don't have the garden
yet, you depend on
your neighbors.
And even though we're
surrounded by water,
there are no gates.
It's not a gated
community.
No.
So when people come here
or make the effort to
come here, we really do
welcome them and enjoy
their company and want to
share this with people.
Enough blabbing,
dinner is served.
Okay.
Alright, we have these
Mandarin pancakes, and
then some duck breast or
some moo shu vegetable.
A little bit of slaw.
These are roasted
vegetable with coriander.
The duck legs here
are with an apple,
onion curry.
Everybody can have free
food if they just put
a little work in.
Gourmet free food.
Gourmet free food.
Organic free food.
Healthy free food.
We're eating gourmet
foods, but when we eat
wild duck or wild
venison, fresh vegetables
from our garden, it's
not gourmet food for us.
It's every day food.
And you know imagine what
this meal would cost
sitting at a restaurant.
You're looking
at eighty to
a hundred $120 a plate,
easily.
We are spoiled.
It's good to be around
very genuine folk
who really respect
where they live,
who they are, and
their neighbors.
I really thank you for
allowing me to be here.
It's been a treat.
Thank you for
including us.
Put that down dude.
Let's make a fire.
Let's make a fire man.
This is the cheapest
barbecue I've ever seen.
Wow.
Holy smokes.
Oh man, look at
the size of that thing!
Get your stroke on.
There you go.
Bucket sex, guys.
Put your hand in there.
I just made 6,000 babies
with just a hand job.
Oh man.
