Vincent Nattress - Chef and Owner of The Orchard Kitchen

Vincent grew up on Whidbey Island. At 16 years of age, he began his restaurant career as a dishwasher in a fast-paced, local fine dining restaurant. He quickly moved up the ranks, eventually leading the hot line. He's been hooked on restaurants ever since.   

The fall after graduating from high school, Vincent took his first trip to Europe. He quickly fell in love with the rich culinary history he found there. Over the next several years he would return three times, culminating in a three-month Stage in a Michelin-starred restaurant in Provence. This internship served as his Senior Project for his Bachelor of Arts degree, "A Cultural and Historical Perspective on the Culinary Arts."

After college Vincent decided to hone his cooking skills by spending "a year or two" in California's Bay Area.  This was the beginning of what would be a 16-year odyssey, which included time as Winery Chef at two different wineries and the creation of a catering company that made it possible for him to work with many of the best wineries in California and beyond. In 2001 he and his wife Tyla Jones Nattress opened Roux Restaurant in St. Helena, which would go on to garner much critical attention, including selection as one of the San Francisco Chronicle's Top 10 New Restaurants and Top 100 Bay Area restaurants overall.

In 2005, Vincent joined Meadowood Napa Valley as the Executive Chef with the express mandate of restoring the property to culinary glory. Vincent was a part of an amazing team, including Patrick Davila, Joseph Humphrey and Christopher Kostow, that set the stage for Meadowood to become a culinary Mecca.

Eventually, Vincent and Tyla returned to Whidbey Island with the desire to create a culinary destination of their own.  This dream became reality in 2015 with the opening of the Orchard Kitchen, a teaching kitchen and dining room on their five-acre organic farm in Langley, Washington.

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