Barking Frog

Barking Frog Chef Bobby Moore Hands Over the Reins After 20 Years | Eater Seattle

"Built by Bobby Moore over two decades into a respected fine-dining destination and a fertile training ground for young chefs, the Barking Frog turned Woodinville — once lacking wine cellars and high-end restaurants — into a place that could compete with Seattle’s dining scene. Moore loved the lodge’s natural beauty and continually pushed the restaurant to a higher level; he also made it a teaching kitchen that produced chefs such as Josh Delgado and Brian Figler. After 20 years Moore is leaving to open a new Eastside restaurant, and longtime cook Dylan Herrick — who started as a dishwasher 16 years ago, left for stints at places like the Alexis Royal Sonesta Hotel and Kokkaku (where a Seattle Times critic singled out one of his bites), then returned — is taking over as executive chef. Herrick says he won’t change the kitchen culture but will amp up sustainability and local sourcing, using a deliberately vague menu to allow frequent swaps of local ingredients, reinstating tasting menus this summer, and collaborating with winemakers and other producers for one-off events; the restaurant also serves three meals a day for Willows Lodge guests year-round. For Herrick it’s a full-circle place — he met his wife at the lodge — and he’s excited to train the next generation of talent in the kitchen." - Jade Yamazaki Stewart