I have always wanted to have a space that I could cook / serve food to the music I listened to. Something that had the intimacy of a small lively punk show. Though I have that in someway with / shed currently, TOMO was refreshing in the way that they have built a space that allows for that lively energy. The entire meal was served to ‘Title Fight’ radio. Title fight is one of my favorite groups of all time. Their album ‘Shed’ was what I listened to a lot while beginning / shed. Having that music in any other space would feel jarring and forced, but in their space it felt warm and natural.
Listening to Title fight the week leading up to the dinner while we thought on what the menu would be I felt the same energy that was present while starting / shed. It was the raw energy of creation in the face of uncertainty. We had never worked with the team at Tomo, worked in their kitchen, nor made much of what we were going to serve before. I am in parts a creature of habit, but contrary to that, for dinners like this I like to retain the ethos of / shed which is in part exploring and honoring the terrain, letting the materials lead us rather then the other way around. So that is the route we took.
Before heading to Whitecenter we drove up the coast to the restaurant on Lummi Island where I worked at for a season back in 2011. We spent the evening after having yet again another incredible feast and then spent the following day with Blaine and Hugo foraging and harvesting from the surrounding terrain. We dug for clams, which we didn’t use in the dinners, but inspired a couple courses on the menu. These moments are some of the moments I find most exciting about cooking.
The team at the willow’s inn was incredibly helpful in our quest to source materials for dinners, other then exploring and foraging with us, they let us glean from their garden and even ground the masa that we would use. The restaurant has since closed, but will always hold a deep place in my heart. Their efforts and support in us for this event was imperative and made everything more enjoyable.
I could speak for a long while about all the parts of this dinner at TOMO, but I will refrain and allow the photos to speak for themselves. I will however finish by saying that when I look at these photos I can’t help but feel a spark of warmth course through me. The space, the music, the terrain, the staff, the guests, the food, the drink, everything feels like a dream.
↴ PHOTOS
