Packers Kitchen + Bar: Seafood, stunning views and a local vision

Packers Kitchen + Bar in the Semiahmoo Resort Golf and Spa features bay views and delicious eats on Semiahmoo Spit.

Located in the upscale resort, Packers focuses on seafood, with prawns, cod and clams on the menu. Offerings also include steak, soup, salad, burgers and pizza at the restaurant, located at 9565 Semiahmoo Parkway.

“You just fall in love with this place,” executive chef Debbie Vance said. “It’s a comfortable place to sit and get lost in the scenery while having a really great meal.”

Vance, who began working for Semiahmoo Resort last August, is building upon Packers’ locally based and seasonal menu. The fish they serve changes based on what is in season, with steelhead trout being the latest dish served from the kitchen, and Vance has made an effort to connect with local farmers.

“If it’s not growing or swimming, then it’s not going to be on the menu,” Vance said. “We like to know where our food comes from.”

The restaurant also has an extensive list of events coming up, which includes a wine dinner on April 10, buffets for Easter and Mother’s Day, and paint-and-sip events on April 18 and May 11.

Vance joined Semiahmoo Resort from Tennessee, where she was chef at the Hilton Knoxville hotel. Before that, she was executive chef at Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa, which is part of an amusement park co-owned by Dolly Parton in Tennessee.

“That was the busiest and most heavy volume I’ve ever done,” Vance said of the resort. “We were completely busy every day of the year.”

Vance’s passion for cooking was ignited by her brother, who went to culinary school and taught her what he learned. She joined her first kitchen at a Lake Tahoe ski resort in 2006, but it wasn’t until she returned from a brief stint on the east coast, where she’s from, that her passion for food took off. Her love for cooking has also taken her to Portland, when its culinary scene was taking off, to golf courses in Florida.

As for her time at Semiahmoo, Vance said local support sustains the resort’s restaurants.

“If you live in a town and you have local support, that’s about as good as it gets,” Vance said.

Restaurant recommendation: Vance recommends readers try the new steelhead trout dish with romesco sauce.

This article is part of a series in The Northern Light highlighting Blaine and Birch Bay restaurants.