FEBRUARY IS FOR (OYSTER) LOVERS Ah oysters, the little bivalve with the salty reputation that’s grown so exquisitely here in the Pacific Northwest. With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, we thought it would be a fun time to explore the rumored aphrodisiac a bit closer. Some say it’s bunk. Others say it’s the fact that…

Fall Dessert It may be best known as membrillo—the thick, fruity jelly regularly found on cheese boards—but quince shouldn’t be relegated just to a paste. With quince coming into season and appearing fresh at farmers’ markets, Chef Varin Keokitvon has been turning the traditional on its head. He hasn’t gone so far as to start serving…

Chef Varin Keokitvon is passionate about mushrooms, and about foraging. Spring may find him hunting the burns of eastern Washington in search of morels, summer casting lines for salmon while scanning the shoreline for hints of porcini, but it’s fall that delivers the true fungal bonanza: more types of mushrooms than might be counted on…

Tomatoes. Sauce never had it so good. Nor, for that matter, did salads or gazpacho. Especially given the beauty that is a fresh-off-the vine heirloom tomato. Take a look at the menu and it may be obvious: Chef Varin Keokitvon is a fan of tomatoes, and especially when it’s an heirloom tomato. What’s the difference?…

Chef Varin Keokitvon has his pots in order. His crab pots, that is, with crabbing season now open in Puget Sound. The funny thing is, Chef can’t even eat crab—he’s allergic to the shellfish. And yet, that doesn’t stop him from crabbing. Chef Varin: I catch crab for everyone else. I just think it’s fun….

Strawberry season has arrived at Heartwood Provisions and everyone is in their happy place. Behind the bar, the team is shaking up batches of a brandy and beer cocktail with savory strawberries invented by Bridget Maloney called “Oh Darryl.”  And in the kitchen Chef Varin is dreaming of shortcakes and salads. “There’s something different and special…