10 Years in the Making: A Celebration of Flavor, Dirt, and the People Who Made it all Delicious

Orchard Kitchen opened its doors for service in July of 2015, ten years ago. But the seed that lead to all we have become began germinating in 2006, even before Vincent and Tyla returned to Whidbey Island. Once just a crayon sketch on a sheet of poster paper, Orchard Kitchen reflects the dream of a young family wanting to put down roots.

The Farm Then & Now

What would become Orchard Kitchen: this is the view looking onto our farm from the west in 2013. Note the lack of windows or doors in the barn and the Orchard Kitchen itself. It was a blank canvas.

Once just a few white buildings and a patch of soil. Now a working, buzzing, growing dream. The farm infrastructure has evolved ten fold.

Our outside seating evolved after being closed during the Covid shutdowns.

This property has changed, evolved, grown and prospered because of the hard work of many hands (and many strong backs!) Key to our vision is a desire to leave this place better than we found it. So far, we have achieved that goal in spades.

"What I am most proud of, looking back on our first decade as a restaurant and working farm, are all of the connections we have made with and among our community. So many employees, past and present, who internalized our belief that feeding people from this land matters. So many guests who have become our dear friends, and so many friendships formed among our guests. We set the table and so many of you have provided the community to fill it. Thank you so much for the last 10 years."

Vincent Nattress