The People Behind
Orchard Kitchen
Orchard Kitchen is built around a small group of people who care deeply about food, farming, and hospitality. What happens here each night is the work of many hands, from the farm and kitchen to the dining room.
The Founders
Vincent and Tyla Nattress founded Orchard Kitchen in 2015, bringing together decades of experience in restaurants and wineries across California and beyond.
Vincent Nattress
Owner/Chef
Vincent grew up on Whidbey Island and began working in restaurants at sixteen. A trip to Europe after high school sparked a deeper interest in culinary tradition, eventually leading to a stage at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Provence.
His career eventually took him to California’s Napa Valley, where he worked as a winery chef and later opened Roux Restaurant in St. Helena. Roux was named one of the San Francisco Chronicle’s Top Ten New Restaurants and later appeared on the Chronicle’s Top 100 list.
In 2015, Vincent and Tyla returned to Whidbey Island to build Orchard Kitchen. When they bought the farm, they always intended to grow produce for the restaurant. But as they began working the land, it quickly became clear the soil was exceptional. What started as a small garden for the kitchen gradually grew into the working farm that now surrounds Orchard Kitchen. Today, Vincent finds himself wearing two hats: chef and farmer.
Tyla Nattress
Owner/Wine Maven
Born and raised on the East Coast, with deep family ties to Maine and Massachusetts, Tyla Tyla now freely admits she prefers Dungeness Crab to Atlantic Lobster. She began working in restaurants as a teenager. After graduating from the University of Vermont, she discovered the world of fine dining service and wine while working alongside restaurant professionals who introduced her to the craft of hospitality.
Her career eventually brought her west to California, where she worked in several restaurants and wineries including Robert Mondavi Winery, Miner Family Winery, and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. Her experience ranges from laboratory work in winemaking to leading service and special events.
At Orchard Kitchen, Tyla curates the restaurant’s wine program and creates the nightly wine pairings. She has a remarkable talent for selecting wines that complement Vincent’s cooking, building a list that highlights small producers, nuanced wines, and bottles that reward curiosity as much as familiarity.
The Farm Team
It takes a small brigade of farmers to grow and lovingly cultivate the crops that surround Orchard Kitchen.
Patrick Moote
Farm Manager
Pat has been part of the Orchard Kitchen team for years, first working in the dining room before eventually moving into farm management. He studied at the Organic Farm School and later completed an Urban Agriculture certificate at Edmonds College. Today Pat helps oversee the farm, and his knowledge, work ethic, and sense of humor fit right in.
Sarah McArthur
Farmer & Photographer
Sarah McArthur works in the fields planting, tending, and harvesting the crops that appear on the menu each week. Along the way, she documents life on the farm through her photography, capturing the changing seasons and the everyday moments that make this place special.
The Orchard Kitchen Team
We are fortunate to have a team of people working at Orchard Kitchen who love the restaurant and hospitality business and thrive on providing a level of service unequaled elsewhere and do it all with smiles.
