For most of its history, Canlis has looked for inspiration both far and wide. The iconic fine-dining restaurant, perched on the edge of Queen Anne with sweeping views of Lake Union, helped define Pacific Northwest cuisine by marrying global influences with a reverence for craft and service. Now, however, as it marks a milestone 75th anniversary, Canlis is turning decisively toward its own region—for ingredients, for inspiration, and for leadership.

In June, the restaurant named 33-year-old James Huffman as its new executive chef; he is the first Seattle-area native to hold the role. “It’s an honor, and a responsibility,” Huffman says. He grew up in Lake Forest Park, north of the city limits, and got his start flipping burgers at Kidd Valley. While he didn’t dream of leading Seattle’s most storied restaurant, he discovered early on that he loved the camaraderie of restaurant work and its focus on people. That emphasis on care—the not-so-secret-ingredient at Canlis—is part of what got him the job.

“What we realized as we started interviewing James and 73 others is that it wasn’t about going out to find the most talented cook as if they were a robot,” recalls owner Mark Canlis, who now runs the restaurant solo after his brother, Brian, recently departed for new ventures in Nashville. “James got the job for who he is—his character, the way he sees other human beings, his ability to be present and vulnerable.”

Nine years ago, after stints at Café Juanita and Purple Café, Huffman joined Canlis as a cook and steadily rose through the ranks, most recently serving as executive sous chef. His promotion marks a turning point for the restaurant, which has traditionally recruited head chefs from outside the region and even abroad. Two of the last three executive chefs came from New York, while the most recent, Aisha Ibrahim, arrived from Thailand. “James is from this place, and he’s of this place,” Canlis notes.

Those local roots extend beyond Huffman’s biography. He and his team are forging deeper relationships with farmers and purveyors across the Northwest (and especially the area he and Canlis playfully call “the Sound situation” in a recent Zoom interview, referring to the Puget Sound region).

“Courage and ingenuity behind pushing the food culture of Pacific Northwest cuisine is really, really important.” —James Huffman, Canlis

“One of my favorite things right now is when the sous chef team and [I] go as a group to the farmers market and just start conversations with different farmers and pork ranchers and beef ranchers,” Huffman says. “Those conversations right now are so exciting.”

A farm tour during the summer at Ferndale Farmstead Creamery so impressed Huffman that the company’s Parmesan is now on the menu as part of the steak tartare dish served in the lounge. Neil’s Bigleaf Maple Syrup, made in Acme, Washington—yes, there is now maple syrup in Western Washington—is another local product he raves over. “It’s not super traditional; it has this almost umami flavor profile to it,” Huffman says of the syrup. “We just love to be able to use any naturally derived sugars in our region rather than, you know, getting cane sugar from Brazil or Florida.”

Other recent additions include Rockridge Orchards’ apple-based balsamic and Westland Distillery’s whisky aged in Quercus garryana oak (commonly known as Garry oak or Oregon white oak), a tree unique to the I-5 corridor. “Courage and ingenuity behind pushing the food culture of Pacific Northwest cuisine is really, really important,” Huffman explains. “As much as we can support the producers in our region from our restaurant, [that] is a big goal of ours.”

Canlis embraces local ingredients and inspiration

Photography by Andrea Coan

For Mark Canlis, these discoveries prompt the restaurant’s guiding question: If this, then what? If local cheese can rival imports from Italy, what might that mean for the Canlis salad—the only dish unchanged since 1950? (It’s possible that Ferndale’s Romano-style cheese might end up playing a role there.) “It’s James’ job to be on the cutting edge of that,” he says. “To taste something and ask, if it’s this good, then what? That to me is fine dining.”

This emphasis on hyperlocal sourcing wasn’t possible when Canlis opened, he notes. Back then, luxury was defined by the exotic—the rarer and farther-flung, the better. Today, the region’s food and wine industries have matured enough to support a restaurant of Canlis’ caliber.

Huffman sees that growth as part of Seattle’s DNA. “The ethos of this city has been innovation, progression, and thoughtfulness,” he says. “I see the same exciting future for the Sound situation’s producers, farmers, ranchers, winemakers, restaurants, and chefs. This is a city that can figure out the flourishing of our people while pushing the food scene and culture forward.”

Despite the challenges facing fine dining, both chef and owner are optimistic. Canlis likens the city’s dining scene to a rhododendron ready to bloom again after a dormant spell. “On the other side of this season, you’re going to see some really cool stuff happening in Seattle,” he predicts. “I’m full of hope for that.”