Orcas Island: Jay Blackinton

On the off chance you stopped by and saw my post about Ælder I could not leave the subject without a separate post about its chef and owner Jay Blackinton. If you looked at the photos of our meal and thought ‘interesting, but how twee’ then you missed the point of this man entirely and its why I’m back. First of all, I’m not even sure he’s 30 yet, but he has discovered his passion in life and in eating at his restaurant both J and I felt like we were having an experience that went far beyond well-seasoned ingredients. Jay embodies the credo of respect for the land, for your food and where it comes from. There is nothing twee about someone who works on a farm in the morning, growing and harvesting the food that he’ll then work to prepare for guests at night.

This credo is followed even when it’s inconvenient. When we returned to Hogstone the following night for pizza J asked if they had a salad on the menu, something green and leafy to balance the richness of the food we’d been eating. The server, Jocelyn, said normally they did, but that in the frost the previous night they’d lost all their lettuce. That’s not precious, that’s real. There is no going to the grocery store to buy lettuce. You eat what you have. And with a gifted chef it’s more than enough.

Pizza with roasted tomato sauce, goat cheese and kale. The night before, as part of our tasting menu, we had a white sauce pizza with sliced squash and mozzarella. I would never think of squash on a pizza, but both were delicious.

So there wasn't salad on the menu but there was this dish of roasted and fresh broccoli with salmon crumbles and cultured cream. This was J's favorite dish of the entire weekend. The char on the broccoli against the fresh, with the teeny tiny bits of salty crunchy salmon and the cool bite of the cream was amazing.

The second night at the restaurant we got a table looking directly into the kitchen and I’m not sure the last time I’ve seen J so excited. At one point, I was sure he going to run in and ask the cook searing the pork belly how exactly he was doing it. Everything fascinated him. It was a fantastic experience, not only getting to eat marvelous food but to learn where it came from and to watch the intensity of effort that goes into preparing it.

I realize I sound all fangirl, but meeting people who are living their passion is inspiring in this day and age. It reminds me how important it is, but that it doesn't come without effort.  And when that purpose is in concert with protecting and respecting our natural resources it’s even more special. I’ve eaten in any number of fabulous restaurants but I’ve never had such an immersive experience or left feeling so good about my meal.

Take five minutes and watch this great video with Jay. It epitomizes just how down-to-earth and dedicated he is.