A Pacific Northwest dining destination will cancel its culinary apprenticeship program and pay nearly $150,000 in wage and overtime violations after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, The Seattle Times reports.

The Willows Inn on Lummi Island, a high-end restaurant known for its hyperlocal cuisine, with many ingredients grown or foraged from the Puget Sound island itself, required entry-level kitchen staff to work for a month for free, then for as wages as low as $50 a day, with days as long as 14 hours and no overtime, according to the investigation.

The restaurant will pay $74,812 in unpaid overtime, plus an equal amount in damages, for a total of $149,624. The restaurant will also cancel its European-style apprenticeship program, a move that could have "implications for high-end restaurants and their entry-level workers across the country," according to the Seattle Times report.

The Willows Inn is widely recognized as a Pacific Northwest dining destination. In 2016, chef Blaine Wetzel won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Northwest. The restaurant is known for its hyperlocal cuisine, inspired by chef Wetzel's three years cooking at the renowned Noma in Copenhagen, with many ingredients foraged from the Puget Sound island. As noted by the Times, The Daily Meal named The Willows Inn the most expensive restaurant in Washington state in May, making it arguably the most expensive restaurant in the Pacific Northwest.

-- Samantha Bakall

sbakall@oregonian.com

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