About the Chef
Resilience
Strength in the Way He Works
As someone with ADHD and autism, Shawn learned how to turn intensity into focus, creativity into structure, and limitation into strength.
In the kitchen, that became intuition, pattern recognition, pressure response, and the ability to create something powerful with very little.
He is also a minimalist by nature.
Less noise. Less equipment. Less performance. More intention. More feeling. More purpose.
Built in His Own Lane
Zero paid PR. Zero paid marketing. No pay-to-play machine behind it.
Chef Shawn Tibbitts built this body of work in his own lane through heart, discipline, cultural grounding, and years of real work.
His visibility was not manufactured through paid public relations campaigns or bought marketing reach. It was built through the food, the people, the community, and the truth of the work itself.
In doing that, he became one of the few to go around the usual systems people are told they need in order to matter. He built a level of recognition that reached far beyond local validation and into national and global conversation, including being recognized on the world stage without a traditional machine behind him.
An Indigenous Way of Thinking
His Indigenous way of thinking shaped that path.
The work was never built around chasing the almighty American dollar, hype, or outside validation first. It was about community. It was about elders. It was about youth. It was about the people.
It was built around feeding people well, honoring where he comes from, carrying story forward, and doing the work with integrity.
Meet the Chef
⭐ Meet Shawn Tibbitts, an Indigenous Alutiiq Chef
Chef • 30+ Years of Professional Cooking • Owner of Tibbitts @ Fern Hill in Tacoma, Washington
Chef Shawn Tibbitts’ journey began long before professional titles or recognition.
From a young age, as someone with ADHD and on the autism spectrum, he learned to cook with intention, intuition, and respect for ingredients. Cooking became his grounding force, a space where creativity met discipline and where feeding others felt like purpose.
Professional Background
Chef Shawn Tibbitts came up in classic Tacoma kitchens, including Tacoma Country and Golf Club and Stanley & Seafort’s in the late 1990s during the Restaurants Unlimited era, where national and international chefs were regularly brought in to train teams in their food cultures and techniques.
Over the past three decades, Chef Tibbitts worked throughout the Pacific Northwest in hotels, casinos, country clubs, golf courses, fine-dining rooms, and high-volume breakfast kitchens.
He mastered every major station and built a reputation for speed, consistency, and soul-driven cooking. His training came from real life, real pressure, and real kitchens, not culinary school.
Tibbitts @ Fern Hill
Those years eventually led him to open Tibbitts @ Fern Hill, a small neighborhood restaurant built on heart, hospitality, and the belief that great food doesn’t require a large kitchen.
With just two burners, he cooks with the same discipline and fire he carried through the biggest operations he has worked in, proving that intention matters more than equipment.
Cultural Grounding
His cooking today reflects a lifetime of hands-on experience, Pacific Northwest culinary roots grounded in his Alutiiq (Sugpiaq), Aleut, and Yup’ik heritage, comfort-forward dishes shaped by fine-dining technique, and a commitment to community, food sovereignty, and cultural respect.
In November 2025, Chef Tibbitts served as Guest Chef for Seattle Children’s Hospital’s Indigenous Food Program, strengthening his dedication to creating food with meaning, identity, and connection.
A Mother’s Influence
Shawn’s mother, Marcella, didn’t teach him how to cook. She joked she could burn water.
They grew up poor and meals were simple, but her strength, love, and determination gave Shawn everything he needed to fight his way forward. Even though she never taught him recipes, she taught him heart.
When Marcella passed unexpectedly, it changed everything. Today, Shawn honors her memory through the warmth and resilience at Tibbitts @ Fern Hill.
His yearly Mother’s Day tradition was featured by FOX 13 Seattle, sharing how he honors his mom by closing the restaurant to feed the community.
A Brother’s Love
In loving memory of my brother, Michael Wayne Tibbitts.
He was more than family. He was my friend and my supporter. I lost him on February 21, 2025. Love you, Bro.
We grew up with very little, but Michael always found a way to bring laughter, light, and love into the room. Losing him changed me forever, and a piece of everything I do in this restaurant is dedicated to him.
This tribute is for everyone who has lost someone they love and is still finding a way to keep going, keep giving, and keep honoring their memory.
Second Chances & Serving Community
On major holidays, instead of serving paid brunch, I close the restaurant and feed people who are struggling, the unhoused, the less fortunate, and anyone who needs a warm meal.
This is who we are.
This is why we cook.
Follow Tibbitts @ Fern Hill
Follow Chef Shawn Tibbitts and Tibbitts @ Fern Hill for reservations, community meals, Indigenous brunch updates, Tacoma events, and behind-the-scenes kitchen stories.
Shawn Tibbitts
Alaskan Native/Nationally Ranked Multi Award Winning Chef/Self Taught Chef
Mother’s Day Give Back
Good evening, everyone. We are five days left. Today is Wednesday, May 6th.
I am continuing to honor my mother’s memory by providing a little hope and a warm meal to those in our community who may be going through a rough patch.
This year, we are aiming to feed around 400 people. We will be providing to-go meals for moms, single dads, elders, and our unhoused neighbors, without judgment. We all hold our lost loved ones close, and this is my way of keeping that energy and love alive in our community.
At this time, we are capped out on volunteers and have reached 60 helpers. I am still looking for folks in the community who may be going through a rough patch and could use a warm meal.
Event Details
When: Mother’s Day, May 10, 2026
Where: Tacoma First UMC Church
Pick-up Hours: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Delivery Hours: 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
If you are requesting delivery, meals will be delivered between 10:30 AM and 12:00 PM. Please contact Sharon at the email below to coordinate.
To request a meal, request delivery, or ask any questions, please email:
tibbittsfeast@gmail.com
Sharon will be the point of contact, and all emails are strictly confidential.
Thank you, everyone. This is not an award or a prize. It is a little hope.
Please share.
Shawn Tibbitts
Mother’s Day
Good morning everyone! I am reaching out to announce that I will be doing a Mother’s Day Give Back again this year. I’ve decided to continue honoring my mother’s memory by providing hope and a warm meal to those in our community who may be going through a rough patch.
This year, we are aiming to feed around 400 people. We are providing meals to-go for Moms, Single Dads, Elders, and our Unhoused neighbors without judgment. We all hold our lost loved ones close, and this is my way of keeping that energy and love alive in our community.
Event Details:
When: Mother’s Day (May 10, 2026)
Where: Tacoma First UMC Church
Pick-up Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Delivery Hours: 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
If you are looking for a delivery, they will be delivered between 10:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Please make sure to contact Sharon at the email below to coordinate.
To make this community event happen, I am looking for helpers and drivers. To sign up, request a delivery, or for any questions, please email tibbittsfeast@gmail.com. The point of contact will be Sharon, and all emails are strictly confidential.
Thank you everyone, This is not an award or a prize its A Little Hope please Share!
Shawn Tibbitts
Happy Easter, everyone! I’m so grateful for all of you. Thank you for coming out and helping me feed over 450 people today. I could not do these events without your support. I’m blessed to be a part of this community. The next one will be on Mother’s Day! Sleepy Sleepy Time Many Blessings!
Good Afternoon Just Touching base Easter is next Sunday 4/5/2026 and we are Still Blessed to offer a Free meal to Familes, Single Folks, Elders, and Unhoused…… this is not an award or a prize This Is a Community Just trying to provide A Lil Assistance to Folks that need A Little hope or a Smile…To Sign up Just Email tibbittsfeast@gmail.com all Emails are Strictly Confidentional please email to pick up Or Have it delivered hours are 10am till 12pm On Easter Sunday and pick up will be at The First Umc Church Downtown Tacoma Thank you Every one Many Blessings.
P.s I will be on #king5seattle #newdaynorthwest Tommorow Monday 3/30/2026 at 11am Showcasing how to Make My Bread Pudding French Toast Yay Thank You.Again
Oh My #Monkeyshinestacoma Is still Hiding These Beautiful Pieces….. Got to work at 430am And its Like a Big Ball of Happiness Thank you #Monkeyshines get your hunt on I believe there more in the South sound area here:)
Just Touching Base April 5th 2026 Free Easter Meal For Folks Going thru a Rough Patch, Families, Elders, unhoused, email to sign up for a Free meal tibbittsfeast@gmail.com Pick up or delivery Im looking for Volunteers to prep and Delivery Drivers Planning on feeding around 400 Ppl!! Appreciate you Folks Many Blessings…. Gunalchéesh Shawn Tibbitts
Happy St Patrick’s Day everyone!! Rock yo green today:) I just wanted to reach out and let you folks know that on Easter, April 5th, 2026, Sunday, I will be cooking and doing another Feed the Community Drive! I’ll be looking for drivers and volunteers to help me feed my city of Tacoma. This is my 10th annual Easter feed, and I’m grateful to be a part of these events! This will be a free meal that can be picked up or delivered for families that are struggling, single folks, elders, and the unhoused. EMAIL FOR VOLUNTEERS and Folks wanting to sign up for a Meal Strictly Confidential tibbittsfeast@gmail.com. Hours will be 10am Till 12pm Held at First Umc Church Downtown Tacoma and Sharon Myers Andersen will be your contact everything goes thru Her:):) and please dont message The Business to Sign up Thank youThis is not an award or a prize; it’s a warm meal and about a community that comes together without judgment. It will be held at Tacoma First UMC. Appreciate you folks. Many blessings. Thank you, Shawn Tibbitts… ps Please Share
Explore more from Tibbitts @ Fern Hill: Tacoma Brunch Menu | Chef Shawn Tibbitts | Community Meals Gallery | Tacoma Community Impact