James Beard winner Matt Dillon lists Vashon Island home for $2.15M

VASHON ISLAND, Wash. — This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com

Seattle native and James Beard Award-winning chef Matt Dillon put his Vashon Island home up for sale last month.

Currently listed at $2.15 million, the 2,344-square-foot home is located on the west side of Vashon Island with stunning views of the Colvos Passage, according to The Puget Sound Business Journal.

A Northwest contemporary where warmth meets modern craft, wrapped in cedar, concrete, and handmade hardwoods,” Zillow stated. “Layers of Japanese maples and sculpted evergreens create extraordinary privacy and a living frame for Colvos Passage and the majestic Olympic Mountains. At the heart of it all, a maple-fringed saltwater rock pool shimmers beside generous terraces for sunlit lunches and starlit dinners.”

Award-winning chef lists Vashon Island home

Initially built in 2011, the two-bedroom, three-bathroom house was purchased by Dillon in 2019 for $1.4 million and features a full-scale chef’s kitchen personally designed by Dillon.

The 1.87-acre plot of land also features a maple-fringed saltwater rock pool, vaulted ceilings, and lush lawns and gardens throughout the backyard.

Dillon will remain on Vashon Island following the sale of the home, continuing to live in another home he owns on the island, where he currently resides with his family.

“He is selling this home because he wants to put his focus on his oyster farm, as well as start another public-facing venture on Vashon,” Nicole Martin, a listing agent for the home, told The Puget Sound Business Journal.

Dillon began cooking as a 12-year-old working in a cafe owned by his mother’s friend, and spent roughly six years working at the cafe, according to Glasswing.

Once Dillon finished high school, he enrolled in culinary school, which was briefly halted as he went on tour with his band, but he returned to the school a year later.

In 2006, Dillon opened his first restaurant, Sitka & Spruce, which took over an old donut shop in Eastlake.

Dillon later opened several other restaurants, including Bar Ferdinand, London Plane, and The Corson Building. All of Dillon’s restaurants were supplied by his 10-acre Old Chaser Farm on Vashon Island, where he grew produce, meat, and dairy.

In 2012, Dillon was awarded the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef in the Northwest.

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