This year, 1 Kitchen’s rotating — and now year-round — A Supper That Sustains Us dinner series seeks to further 1 Hotel Nashville’s initiative to teach guests about where their food comes from. Each month, executive chef Tyler Lee and his team will curate seasonal menus featuring local farmers and foragers. The program intends to honor 1 Hotel’s respect for the land — and highlight the people behind the ingredients.

A spotlight on herbcraft collective High Garden Tea kicked off the series last month. Husband-and-wife duo Leah (a trained clinical-level herbalist) and Joel Larabell (a self-proclaimed “tea connoisseur”) founded High Garden as both a business and a ritualistic way of life. All herbs and spices are organic, being regionally grown or sustainably wildcrafted. To give back, Leah and Joel put 50 cents from every product sold into a forest savings account, which they use to purchase and preserve forested land and donate to other nearby conservation efforts.

1 Kitchen’s January tasting menu utilized High Garden blends as essential culinary ingredients. Honey suckle “Welcome Tea” and “cruffins” marbled with coconut charcoal — Tyler’s spin on tea and crumpets — greeted guests. Thanks to honey-infused butter, the delicacies were sweet, but by the second chew, the potent charcoal added a smoky flavor. 

Next was Tyler’s take on the traditional salad course — a wintery citrus salad marinated in High Garden’s Forest Nymph tonic, which combines raw apple cider vinegar, honey, sarsaparilla root and an array of spices. Leafy greens — aptly harvested right before Nashville’s ice storm — rested on a tender bed of blood orange and pickled fennel. 

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Tyler’s matcha tortellini was the ultimate showstopper. Chefs soaked each delicate, squash-ricotta-stuffed morsel in tea-infused broth — offering a tasting experience Tyler describes as “down to earth.” Alaskan halibut followed. Turmeric-ginger root tea added a delicate crust to the tender fish’s exterior, while carrot purée and citrus herb oil augmented the dish’s subtly sweet flavor. 

Executive pastry chef Kate Sigel’s Elderberry Nights dessert added to the indulgence. She soaked the black forest-esque cake in elderberry-cherry cobbler tea and topped it with chocolate shards. 

Next month’s menu will highlight Freedom Run Farm Lab and focus on regenerative Appalachian lamb. Tyler hopes December’s menu will highlight dishes from each month as an end-of-year celebration. 

To learn more about 1 Kitchen, visit https://www.1hotels.com/nashville/taste/1-kitchen.