Web JPG BM Forage 4770
The Garden

FORAGING

The Great Smoky Mountain region is a playground for foragers. Many edible wild plants and mushrooms grow natively in our region and flourish naturally throughout the luscious forest acres that surround our Farmstead. Our dedicated Garden team tends the forested sections of our property by selectively pruning the wild flora to support the healthy growth of many local plants, while respecting the natural habitat and local wildlife that also forage in our forest.

Foraging is a cyclical process that allows us to enjoy nature’s bounty at its peak while respecting the land’s natural rhythms. Before the grass begins to green in the Spring, we begin our culinary adventure. We collect morel mushrooms from under stands of conifers and in the hollows. After the first Spring rains, we see the ramps turn the mountainside green. Ramps are a member of the onion family and a Spring menu staple in our restaurants. As the days of Summer lengthen, we find an abundance of chanterelles, black trumpets and myriad varieties of boletes everywhere. They are so plentiful, we select only the freshest, perfectly shaped of each variety. Our search continues until only Hedgehog mushrooms remain on the creeksides, all the while watching the Paw Paws steadily approach ripeness. After the Paw Paws, we watch for the arrival of Persimmons, wild crabapples, wild muscadines, huckleberries and on and on until we circle back to morels.

Web JPG BF Mushroom 0948

While you will find chanterelle mushrooms, morel mushrooms and other varieties when walking our woods, our Garden team also cultivates a “mushroom forest” to supplement the kitchens. We inoculate fallen logs with mushroom spores in the Winter, and in Spring we soak and set them out beneath the trees. We patiently wait for nature to take its course and harvest the mushrooms for our kitchens in the Spring, Summer and Fall. As you decide which dishes to enjoy throughout your stay, consider trying some of our mushrooms. From meaty oyster mushrooms to the feathery hen of the woods mushrooms, our chefs have mastered delicious preparation techniques for each variety we cultivate on the Farm.