The island is idyllic. As a workplace, it s toxic
13 minutes to read
By: Julia Moskin
Globe-trotting diners flock to the Willows Inn s serene Northwest setting. But former employees say faked ingredients, sexual harassment and an abusive kitchen are the real story. The chef Blaine Wetzel first came to Lummi, a tiny island near the San Juan archipelago of Washington state, in 2010. At age 24, he was fresh off a two-year stint at the vaunted Copenhagen restaurant Noma. He could have found a job in any kitchen in the world.
Instead, he d answered an ad on Craigslist, posted by a chicken farmer who owned a century-old inn on Lummi Island, 160km north of Seattle and reachable only by ferry. Sight unseen, Wetzel had fallen for the island s ravishing isolation fewer than 1,000 people live there full time and its unspoiled forests, farms and fisheries.
The island is idyllic As a workplace, it s toxic boston.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from boston.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
April 27, 2021Updated 11:38 a.m. ET
The chef Blaine Wetzel first came to Lummi, a tiny island in the San Juan archipelago of Washington State, in 2010. At age 24, he was fresh off a two-year stint at the vaunted Copenhagen restaurant Noma. He could have found a job in any kitchen in the world.
Instead, heâd answered an ad on Craigslist, posted by a chicken farmer who owned a century-old inn on Lummi Island, 100 miles north of Seattle and reachable only by ferry. Sight unseen, Mr. Wetzel had fallen for the islandâs ravishing isolation â fewer than 1,000 people live there full-time â and its unspoiled forests, farms and fisheries.
By Inside Edition Staff
First Published: 12:40 PM PDT, April 27, 2021
In addition wage theft allegations, other employees told The New York Times that the Willows Inn s claims of where some of their ingredients came from were not true, saying that things said to have come from the island were sourced from other places.
Former workers at a restaurant on Lummi, a tiny island off Washington State, have told The New York Times that the kitchen at the Willows Inn is not all that it has been made out to be, with claims of overworked employees, sexual harassment, verbal abuse, and lies about the the sourcing of ingredients.