By Tobin Meyer
Contributing Editor

December 29, 2015

I came to the San Juan Islands for the first time as a boy. This was an experience I will never forget.  The first ferry ride on the big green and white Washington State Ferries through narrow ocean passages was a magical experience of transformation from city dweller to explorer.

Though I am older now, that experience of the city fading away as my ocean voyage begins never changes. It is a virtual cleansing, a time of disconnecting with my digital devices and reconnecting with my family and friends.  I have kids of my own now and for the first time last summer I got to see them go through that transformation.  Legos, iPads, and video games replaced with beach combing, bike rides, and hikes through magical Madrona trees.

Nestled among all of this amazing scenery, that exists no where else in the world, is the small town of Olga on Orcas Island.  It is in Olga where you will find Chef Juliana Capdeville working away on her organic gardens, trading and bartering for local seafood, and cooking meals that fill the air with aromas of foods found only in this unique part of the world including fresh Dungeness crab, Sokeye salmon, clams, oysters, and more!  Just as you would go to Maine for a lobster experience you would go to Juliana’s kitchen for a Pacific Northwest dining experience at Orcas Culinary Retreat.

Chef Juliana has been providing catering services to Orcas Island for years.  In addition to catering, private chef services, and cooking classes, Juliana has also put together a dining experience for tourists and locals to Orcas Island who love to eat local, fresh, organic food.  Your day will start with an adventure in harvesting local produce, seafood, and more from Orcas Island.  You will meet local produce vendors, see local markets, and meet the hard working Puget Sound fishermen at the docks of Orcas Island.  From this bounty, Chef Juliana will prepare an amazing dining experience from a menu you have helped select to fit your taste buds and diet.   Vegans, vegetarians, glutten free diets are Chef Juliana’s specialty and she will find a menu to fit your dining experience needs!

So come one and come all to this amazing, magical, cleansing place of true serenity.  Come to a place that takes you a world away from the hustle and the bustle of the city.  Come to Orcas Island and have an Orcas Culinary Retreat.

Start your retreat today by visiting orcasculinaryretreat.com!