Vincent Nattress

Vincent grew up in Washington State, in the tiny town of Coupeville on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound. The Nattress family had a deep appreciation for the Pacific Northwest and for the art of foraging for food. His earliest memories are steeped in fishing for trout and salt water fish, crabbing, and clamming, as well as picking berries in the fall. Vincent's Dad was a great teacher, especially when it came to how to handle a boat or tie a knot. His mother was an avid home cook who exposed him to the basics of French, Asian and Southwestern cuisine at an early age.

Vincent was 16 when his culinary career began in a local fine dining restaurant. At 18, he traveled to Europe for the first time. He fell in love with France, feeling instantly at home surrounded by the vineyards and centuries of culinary history. After a short five months abroad, Vincent returned to Seattle with a personal commitment to cook in France someday.

During his years at Fairhaven College in Bellingham, Vincent traveled to Europe on three occasions. His last visit led him to work in the Michelin starred restaurant "La Table du Comtat" in Provence. This internship served as his senior project for a self-designed Bachelor of Arts degree entitled "A Cultural & Historical Perspective on the Culinary Arts."

Vincent's love of food and wine brought him to Napa Valley in 1993. He became the Winery Chef for Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, where he worked and learned for three years.  In 1996, Vincent became the Chef at Robert Sinskey Vineyards, where he developed the successful Guest Chef Series of cooking classes, giving him the unique opportunity to work with chefs from around the country.

In 1997 Vincent founded his own business, Vinous Food & Wine, providing consulting chef services for premium wineries. During this period Vincent was fortunate to work as the Chef & Kitchen Manager for three PBS television series, including the James Beard Award winning "Jacques Pepin's Kitchen: Encore with Claudine." He also worked as the Production Chef on two of Pepin's books, published by Bay Books. During this time, his travels took him to Bangkok, Thailand, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia among other locations to work as an ambassador for Napa Valley Cuisine, representing Stag's Leap Wine Cellars and Monticello Vineyards among others.

In spring of 2001 Vincent and his wife, Tyla Jones Nattress, opened Roux, an intimate, fine dining restaurant in downtown St. Helena. Roux's French-inspired modern American food was focused around a multi-course tasting menu. In its first year, Roux was named by the San Francisco Chronicle as one of the Top 100 restaurants in the Bay Area and one of the Top 10 restaurants of 2001. Roux was featured in several national publication including Food & Wine and USA Today.

Vincent closed Roux in January of 2004 and joined Meadowood Napa Valley as the Executive Chef.  This included culinary responsibility for three sister wineries, Harlan Estate, BOND, and The Napa Valley Reserve.  Vincent helped to develop the concept for the new Restaurant at Meadowood, and helped to oversee the reopening.  The Restaurant garnered Two Michelin Stars in its first year.

In his five years at Meadowood Napa Valley, one of the things that Vincent is proudest of is the development of a large, year round garden. He worked closely with the gardeners and his chefs to assure that items from the garden were always prominently featured for their guests. Among other duties at Meadowood, Vincent coordinated and oversaw all of the culinary aspects of five successful Gala Dinners for Auction Napa Valley, the oldest and most prestigious charitable wine auction in America. His other accolades included being named the Chef of the Year for the Napa Valley Mustard Festival in 2006 and 2007.

Having grown up in an agricultural area and living in Napa Valley for many years, Vincent has long been a fan of local farms. As a chef, he always looks to local sources for fresh produce, meat and fish, and often participates in charitable events to draw attention to local, sustainable and heirloom products. An avid gardener and committed locavore, Vincent was a member of Board of Directors for the St. Helena Farmers’ Market from 2007 to 2009.

In the summer of 2009 Vincent returned to Coupeville, Washington with Tyla and their two young daughters. As a family, they are pursuing his life long dream of developing their own sustainable food business. It will be based on the best products Whidbey Island can produce, prepared with the care and expertise that only a chef with Vincent’s experience can provide.