Talk:Willows Inn

Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. You can locate your hook here. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Kingsif talk 23:57, 26 October 2025 (UTC)

( Comment or view )

( Article history links:

• Willows Inn
• Blaine Wetzel

)

Blaine Wetzel

• ... that the Willows Inn, headed by chef Blaine Wetzel (pictured), was one of the restaurants that inspired the horror comedy film The Menu?

• Source: *"The Willows was one of the main inspirations for the recent movie "The Menu," exploring the dark side of fine dining and celebrity-chef culture." (New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/29/dining/willows-inn-closes-allegations-abuse.html)
• "In 2022, The Menu was released by Searchlight Pictures, a dark satirical horror-comedy set on a private island host to a fine-dining restaurant called Hawthorn, echoing real-life restaurants Noma or Willows Inn, where hyper-local foods are displayed with modernist culinary techniques" (https://escholarship.org/content/qt7nm113bz/qt7nm113bz_noSplash_6fd924b51cf852fc36f28b035568af66.pdf)
• "Perhaps the most ridiculous detail about Hawthorne is that the diners must get a boat to a secluded island just for their meal. It would seem utterly unrealistic if it weren't plucked from real life. To dine at the Willows Inn, you have to get a ferry to the island of Lummi, off the coast of Washington, to be able to sample food from chef Blaine Wetzel." (Far Out Magazine, https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/restaurant-inspired-the-menu/)

• • ALT1: ... that according to former staff of Willows Inn, which chef Blaine Wetzel (pictured) said used only locally foraged or harvested ingredients, one signature dish was made with chickens from Costco? Source: "[Wetzel]'s fame rests on his longtime claim of using only the island’s locally foraged, fished and farmed ingredients... But all of the restaurant employees interviewed disputed that claim. ... “roasted chicken drippings,” part of a signature dish, were made in big batches from organic chickens bought at Costco." New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/27/dining/blaine-wetzel-willows-inn-lummi-island-abuse.html
  • ALT2: ... that chef Blaine Wetzel (pictured) turned the Willows Inn, located on a remote island reachable only by ferry, into a global destination restaurant? Source: "[Wetzel had] answered an ad on Craigslist, posted by a chicken farmer who owned a century-old inn on Lummi Island, 100 miles north of Seattle and reachable only by ferry. Sight unseen, Mr. Wetzel had fallen for the island’s ravishing isolation — fewer than 1,000 people live there full-time — and its unspoiled forests, farms and fisheries.... Since he took over the kitchen at the Willows Inn, it has become a global destination." New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/27/dining/blaine-wetzel-willows-inn-lummi-island-abuse.html
  • Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/Frederic Willans
  • Comment: Second QPQ: Template:Did you know nominations/Homeopathy Unrefuted

A photo of the restaurant is available for promoter/queuer if desired instead of the headshot of Wetzel:

Willows Inn

Moved to mainspace by Dclemens1971 (talk). Number of QPQs required: 2. Nominator has 23 past nominations.

Dclemens1971 (talk) 14:14, 15 October 2025 (UTC).

Interesting and unusual articles, on fine sources, no cpyvio obvious. Naturally, the articles share facts, but both ave enough "single" content to qualify. Of the pics, both licensed, I prefer the person, but would also consider the pic of him cooking. I am willing to approve the hook if you insist but think the qualification "worth a plane trip" is more unusual to the place, and "hyperlocal cuisine fished, grown or foraged on or around Lummi Island" even more so. Please let me know. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 12:21, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

@Gerda Arendt: Thanks for the comment. I didn't want to offer any hooks that read too NPOV/promotional, especially considering the restaurant's denouement, but here are a couple more options for you. If you approve, would you mind clarifying for the promoter whether you are also approving the original hooks? (I happen to think ALT0 would perform well given the connection to a much-buzzed-about movie.) Thanks! Dclemens1971 (talk) 14:14, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

• ALT3: ... that under chef Blaine Wetzel (pictured), The New York Times described the Willows Inn as one of "10 restaurants worth a plane ride"? Source: "10 Restaurants Worth a Plane Ride," New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/travel/09restaurants.html?_r=0
• ALT4: ... that several employees disputed Blaine Wetzel's claims that he used "only the island's locally foraged, fished and farmed ingredients" at the Willows Inn, according to The New York Times? Source: "His fame rests on his longtime claim of using only the island’s locally foraged, fished and farmed ingredients, mainly from the inn’s one-acre Loganita Farm. But all of the restaurant employees interviewed disputed that claim. In fact, they said, most ingredients were ordered from distributors and farms on the mainland. When local produce ran out, cooks routinely bought supermarket ingredients, like beets and broccoli, that were then passed off as grown or gathered on Lummi." New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/27/dining/blaine-wetzel-willows-inn-lummi-island-abuse.html

P.S. I am adding for promoters' consideration the photo of Wetzel cooking as an option per Gerda's note above, although I am concerned it may not be clear enough at 140px. Dclemens1971 (talk) 14:17, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

Blaine Wetzel (left)

Thank you for the ALTs and the pic. I have to apologize that I was a bit under pressure and didn't see ALT1 and ALT2. Hope I didn't cause you too much trouble. In the end, I approve all five hooks. No pic is really good, the head shot has the unmotivated hand of another person, the restaurant looks nothing special, and the cooking pic has little detail of his face, but at least it shows cooking in action ;) My hook preference is ALT3, followed by ALT2, especially with a piped link to the actual island. We don't have to fear promotion because what would be promoted no longer exists. The ingredient hooks are complex, and I know nothing about the film. I know Costco but others may not. However, I don't care if something else is chosen. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:49, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

GA review

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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This review is transcluded from Talk:Willows Inn/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Nominator: Dclemens1971 (talk · contribs) 21:30, 15 October 2025 (UTC)

Reviewer: HistoryTheorist (talk · contribs) 23:39, 17 October 2025 (UTC)

Hi there! I'm interested in reviewing this as it's in my home state (although I've never been to the San Juan Islands). Currently quite busy at this moment, so this might take a bit of time to complete. ❤HistoryTheorist❤ 23:39, 17 October 2025 (UTC)

@Dclemens1971: I want to let you know that this is taking longer than I anticipated due to some projects I have to complete as a full-time student. I thought I would be able to completely review this last week, but I overestimated my energy levels and underestimated my busyness. I am still interested in reviewing, but if I cannot review it by November 7th, I will likely return it to the queue so that somebody else can review it more promptly. Sorry that this is taking so long and thank you for your understanding! ❤HistoryTheorist❤ 05:03, 26 October 2025 (UTC)

@Dclemens1971: Not done with the review yet, but I have found more time to work on it! Should be done by November 11th. ❤HistoryTheorist❤ 21:35, 7 November 2025 (UTC)

@Dclemens1971: I think I'm about done with the review! Sorry to keep you waiting that long, but here it is. (Note: if I find anything between now and when I close the review, I might add an extra comment). Learned something new with this article! The only local Washington foods I like are raw salmon on sushi and the invasive and non-invasive berries. (The restaurant was still being dishonest, but technically Costco is a local business!) ❤HistoryTheorist❤ 00:10, 9 November 2025 (UTC)

Thank you for the detailed review HistoryTheorist. See my comments below and let me know if there's anything else you need to see! Dclemens1971 (talk) 02:35, 9 November 2025 (UTC)

Good Article review progress box

Criteria: 1a. prose () 1b. MoS () 2a. ref layout () 2b. cites WP:RS () 2c. no WP:OR () 2d. no WP:CV () 3a. broadness () 3b. focus () 4. neutral () 5. stable () 6a. free or tagged images () 6b. pics relevant () Note: this represents where the article stands relative to the Good Article criteria. Criteria marked are unassessed

source review

• Y source 1 looks good
  • Ok, technically, source 1 doesn't mention Riley Starks; but source 2 does. You might want to add a source 2 footnote after They sold the inn...his wife in 2001
• Y source 5 looks good
• Y source 6 looks good for the most part, but how were you able to verify that 40 was the peak staff they had? Or are you saying that 2018 is its peak year? If the latter interpretation is the case, how did you figure out that 2018 was the peak? Sorry if I'm being too semantic.
  • "Peak" was more generic (ie, when it was at the top of its acclaim before the scandals), so I revised this. Dclemens1971 (talk) 02:32, 9 November 2025 (UTC)
• Y source 9 looks good
• Y source 8 1st reference about it closing during the winter looks good, but I don't see it mentioning how Wetzel became co-owner? Perhaps that's something you could use source 9 for? (Source 9 references Wetzel as co-owner, but never says when. Also implies he started as co-owner, which I don't know if that is true or not.)
  • Source 8 (the WSJ article) says He had initially responded to an ad on Craigslist for a short-term seasonal gig cooking simple food, but, taken by the quality of the ingredients he found on the island, he decided to stick around, eventually buying the inn with help from local investors. That is a statement that he was not an owner to start, but became one, but with investors and thus a "co-owner" since investors own some of the business. Dclemens1971 (talk) 02:32, 9 November 2025 (UTC)

  Ok looks good. Sometimes, those details get overlooked! ❤HistoryTheorist❤ 20:03, 9 November 2025 (UTC)

• Y source 10 looks good
• Y source 11 looks good
• Y source 13 looks good
• Y source 4 looks good
• Y source 14 looks good
• Y source 16 looks good
• Y source 17 looks good
• Y source 15 looks good
• Y source 18 looks good
• Y source 19 looks good, but you might want to add a source 19 footnote for the sentence Volunteer labor in staging...at the Willows inn, because the part of it being a common European practice comes more from 19 than 12.
  • Done. Dclemens1971 (talk) 02:32, 9 November 2025 (UTC)
• Y source 23 looks good
• Y source 24 looks good
• Y source 20 looks good for the most part, but where are you getting that the lawsuit expanded to 137 employees? According to my reading of the article, I saw an expansion but no specific number.
  • Added a source for this, thought it was already in the article. Dclemens1971 (talk) 02:32, 9 November 2025 (UTC)
• Note: For all paywalled sources, especially Bon Apetit, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal, (I believe Puget Sound Business Journal is the same way) it might be good to include archive links so people can still access the sources. At the very least, you should use the url-access parameter to note that there is some sort of paywall.
  • Done. Dclemens1971 (talk) 02:32, 9 November 2025 (UTC)

prose notes/other

• I see that you punctuated bed and breakfast differently throughout the article. Are you going to do dashes or no dashes?
  • Original intent was that the hyphens would be used when the term was used as an adjective but just changed it for consistency. Dclemens1971 (talk) 21:48, 20 October 2025 (UTC)
• I suggest using an Oxford comma in the list local salmon, Lummi Island's many varieties of berries, seaweeds and beach plants, local shellfish and produce from Starks' organic farm
• Link U.S. Department of Labor
  • Both done. Dclemens1971 (talk) 02:33, 9 November 2025 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.