Salmon may be loved all over the world, but no fresh-fish season is so anticipated as Copper River salmon season in the Pacific Northwest. Every year, beginning around May, school upon school of salmon begin turning from the Pacific Ocean toward Alaska’s Copper River. Over a five month span some 2 million king, sockeye, and…

Morels. To find, cook and eat this morsel will change your life forever. Morel mushrooms are so delicious and prized that rumor has it some especially prolific spots have been handed down in wills. Hunting morels (it’s actually foraging, but these mushrooms can be so elusive that it’s regularly called hunting) can be intoxicating. Never mind the…

Spring is here, and with it comes a cornucopia of wild edibles. One of the first to arrive is the oval-faced Miner’s lettuce. With its broad leaf nodding at the end of a slender stem, the native plant loves just barely wet landscapes. In Washington it can be found growing in sandy soil, forests, thickets,…

Some days it seems Chef Varin can’t quit smoking. It is a very hard habit to kick, especially when he is working on the josper or the hearth oven.  “Being around live fire every day inspires us to think about how we can add wood flavor to what we cook constantly”. Chef Varin cures and smokes…

Chef Varin will smoke just about anything—cola or caramel, fish, roe or fowl. In this installment of Smoke Signals he takes salmon to a whole new level when he goes for the eggs. Chef Varin: Fish roe is such a magical, unique food. With their tiny packages and their characteristic “pop!” these little eggs pack…

In 2011 Chef Varin was very fortunate to be selected for an ICEX Spain culinary scholarship, which allowed him to travel to Spain for nearly a year, learn about the cuisine, and work in two great restaurants—El Celler de Can Roca and Espai Sucre. It also allowed him to discover a great passion: jamon Iberico…