International Food Writers Visit Whidbey and Camano Islands

International Food Writers Visit Whidbey and Camano Islands

The International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association held their annual conference on Whidbey and Camano Islands. In a bold experiment, these travel experts broke from the traditional big-city conference centers and chose our islands as their 2018 conference site.

Carl Comfort dumps a bucket of grapes into a larger gin.

Grape Harvest in the Rain

While a sommelier can tell you what tastes are in a wine, he or she cannot tell you what all really goes into a wine. That’s especially true when with the community that grows at harvest time.

KIRO Radio – The Orchard Kitchen

KIRO Radio – The Orchard Kitchen

All About Crab “Buy live crab…that’s the only way you know that it’s fresh,” says chef Vincent Natress.  It’s the first of many insights Natress offers KIRO’s Tina Noel in this interview that foodies will love.  Noel was one of a handful of people taking a cooking class to learn the ins and outs of how…

Mussels being cooked in a wok.

KIRO Radio – About Penn Cove Mussels

KIRO Radio’s weekend cooking show with Tom Douglas takes us to Penn Cove for, what else? Penn Cove Mussels.
KIRO’s Tina Noel talks with Penn Cove Mussels co-owner Raul Jefferds and heads out on a boat to get an up-close look at the operation.

Mussels being cooked in a wok.

Chasing Penn Cove “Mussel Madness”

What makes Whidbey Island so special? Is it the feeling of being away from it all? The journey to get there (you may drive to the ferry and ride on)? The many water views and beaches? The feeling of a slower pace and small town values? Or the plethora of fresh food ? I think it is a magical combination of these attributes that makes this place so unique.

Coffee beans pour from a roaster into a cooling pan.

Camano Island Coffee Roasters: In the Business of Changing Lives

Tucked inside the Camano Island Marketplace is a seemingly humble business, a coffee roaster. But this business, appropriately named Camano Island Coffee Roasters, has a worldwide impact, one that is changing lives through one small coffee bean farm at a time.