Imagine working in the most perfect place one can think up. It has stunning views and comes not just with tantalizing job offers but delicious food. Now imagine it all being a big lie. That's what happened to the workers at the Willows Inn on Lummi Island off the Washington State coastline. The ultimate's chef's dream turned into a worker's nightmare.
Regular contributor Julia Moskin, contributed this eye opening report in today's New York Times Food section. She exposed practices better associated with trendy big city restaurants and crimes that are not at all uncommon in New York, Chicago, Boston or Los Angeles.It started with the famed chef , Blaine Wetzel falling in love with this tranquil island in the San Juan Archipelago. He was only twenty-four and fresh from a two year stint at the famed Copenhagen eatery Noma. Any restaurant would have wanted this rising superstar in the culinary world. Instead he answered an ad on Craigslist posted by an island chicken farmer who owned the century old inn. Its' isolation appealed to him .It had less than one thousand people living on it. There were unspoiled forests along with local fisheries and farms - all perfect for fresh ingredients. It quickly became a global destination with visitors paying a whopping $500 for a night. The dishes were either foraged or fished not far from it. Yet it was nothing more than a fairy tale.
Ms. Moskin interviewed thirty-five former employees for the article and their stories are horror ones.For one those fresh ingredients weren't exactly fresh nor were they local. They were ferried in from the mainland, namely from distributors and other farms. Pacific octopus came from Spain and Portugal. Chicken was bought from Costco. Venison came from a farm in Idaho. Even more disturbing were the allegations against Chef Wetzel for sexual harassment. Underage teenage girls were given potent alcoholic drinks and drugs. There was inappropriate touching by older male workers while Chef Wetzel himself drove home a drunk underage worker, Sarah Letchworth. He wanted to drive her to his place to do shots. If that wasn't bad enough there were biases against female workers. Jen Curtis was a seasoned chef di cuisine when she joined the restaurant's staff. Chef Wetzel promised her a sous chef position as soon as it became available. She was shunted aside for male sous chefs. Then there was also the racism, with slurs being hurled at Asian American chefs.Interns were also abused, as they were forced to work fourteen hour days. Thankfully the inn's former workers filed a class action lawsuit against the chef who was accused of wage theft and provide rest breaks along with misappropriation of tips.
The Willow Inn can be redeemed by a more compatible, caring chef. it is a paradise with fresh ingredients waiting to be turned into delicious dishes. It can overcome this bad period and enter a more understanding, honest one.
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