A taste of Whidbey: Visiting chefs craft four-hour feast

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Captain Whidbey Inn, a Coupeville gem nestled on the banks of Penn Cove, came alive last weekend with boisterous conversations, clinking wine glasses and forks ricocheting off plates.

Friday evening felt less like a formal dinner among strangers and more like being welcomed into a communal table of friends. The meal was hosted by chef Kelly Mariani of Scribe Winery in Sonoma California, in collaboration with an Oregon-based chef and James Beard Award–winning cookbook author Joshua McFadden. The duo, who have cooked together many times before, bond in the kitchen over their mutual ingredient-driven nature and focus on the seasons, Mariani said.

From April 24-26, the visiting chefs presented inn guests, who were mostly all Scribe wine club members, with entirely original menus sourced from Whidbey’s farmers. This lucky News-Times reporter was invited to participate — and eat.

“Honestly, we couldn’t recreate this dinner again,” Mariani admitted.

“I know! I kept thinking that too,” McFadden said.

Megan Gellert, the founder of Slice PR & Events, noted that the weekend was conceived as a creative partnership with the inn. Captain Whidbey has hosted many such chef takeovers in the past and plans on rolling out more in the future.

Dishes arrived family-style along a long, shared table, carried out by beaming servers at an unhurried pace that matched the inn’s cabin-like calm. Between bites and pours, conversation unfolded easily — drifting from weekend plans to skiing to the nuances of language. What began as polite small-talk stretched, over the course of four hours, into something more personal. By the end, we knew one another’s favorite pastimes and small frustrations.

During the first of five courses, waiters poured a 2025 Scribe Rosé Pét-Nat — effervescent and gently sweet. On the “PNW ‘Relish Tray’ of Dreams,” miyagi oysters arrived. Its creamy meat was sharpened by rhubarb mignonette. Radishes rested daintily on seaweed butter. Crispy “Dog Island” mushrooms followed. Creamy oeufs from One Willow Farm paired with mayonnaise melted in the mouth with a bite. The delicate Eva’s Wild sockeye salmon tartare finished out the first course.

Next came leeks from Ralph’s Greenhouse, softened with beurre blanc and dappled with roe and tarragon. The dish was paired with a 2025 Scribe Riesling, light and refreshing. Just when my pants button was threatening to break free from its threads, campanelle pasta with squid and spring pea ragù arrived like a taste of Whidbey on a plate.

Then, anchoring the evening, came a generous serving of tender Three Sisters lamb draped with wild nettles. The meal was elevated with a 2024 Scribe Pinot Noir. The accompanying potatoes yielded at the slightest touch of my fork, an experience I have never quite achieved from my typical air-fried attempts. Balancing out the richer meal, we ate Yakima asparagus dressed with silky hollandaise sauce and a “market greens” salad in Katz vinaigrette.

I was full; it was almost unbearable to think of eating anything else. But, I always have room for dessert, especially when it is served by Mariani and McFadden. As the final light slipped away outside, the servers dished out almond cake with Twinbrook Creamery Chantilly cream and macerated strawberries that tasted as if they were plucked from the ground right before the meal.

California-based education technician Megan Walson, my table neighbor, was just as dazzled with the meal as I was.

“It was incredible. It matches the vibe of what we normally get from Scribe,” she said, a decade long member of the winery.

The dishes were intentional, delicious and balanced, something McFadden said was based on what the chefs themselves would most want to eat. Mariani and McFadden’s warm personalities shone through as they walked around greeting the guests throughout the meal and ensuring their experience was seamless. Mariani explained that you don’t have to be a food connoisseur to enjoy the food.

“What’s most important is that at the end of the day, good food is good food,” Mariani said, adding that she hopes people walk away from the meal feeling like they had a big hug. “It doesn’t have to get too cerebral and complicated.”

To me, the meal illuminated the farms, waters and guests that make Whidbey such a wonderful place. The four-hour experience was defined as much by its warmth and connection as by what was on the plates. The food was so good, we stayed long past dessert.

“I really enjoyed just being with all these people that we didn’t know,” Walson said. “I think it’s hard as an adult to make friends and put yourself out there, and this was such an organic way to bring people together.”