Green Genius Celebrates Third Anniversary With Garden Before Grace Supper Club

Chef Tori Funn presents an immersive plant-based tasting experience with live music, botanical storytelling and an autumn-inspired menu in Kearny, NJ.

KEARNY, NJ, UNITED STATES, August 31, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — KEARNY, N.J. — Chef Tori Funn, a Newark chef, U.S. Army veteran and founder of Green Genius, will celebrate the culinary wellness brand’s third anniversary with Garden Before Grace: The First Blessing Was the Garden, an intimate plant-based supper club on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at VFW Post 1302 in Kearny, New Jersey.

Garden Before Grace marks three years since Funn named Green Genius on Oct. 21, 2023. The anniversary experience brings the brand’s story to the table through a multi-course tasting menu, live music by Segdrick Marsh & Band, botanical storytelling and an immersive autumn garden atmosphere.

The concept traces back to a turning point in Funn’s relationship with food. After completing a 21-day detox, she emerged with a different understanding of nourishment and began exploring how plant-based food could support wellness while remaining culturally rooted, imaginative and satisfying. That experience became part of the foundation for Green Genius.

“Before we learned to ask for the blessing over the food, the blessing was already growing,” Funn said.

That idea serves as the creative foundation for Garden Before Grace. Funn designed the menu as a progression through the symbolic rhythm of a shared table: First Fruits, Breaking Bread, Grace, Harvest, Be Still, Gathering and Abundance.

Guests will begin with two flower-essence welcome mocktails. Eden combines green apple, pear, key lime and sage with a sparkling finish, while The Offering layers cranberry, pomegranate, hibiscus and orange.

Breaking Bread pairs sourdough crostini with cultured cashew chèvre, roasted butternut squash, caramelized onions, crispy maitake, smoked maple-balsamic reduction and fresh mint. The Hidden Jewel transforms purple carrot into tartare with black garlic, browned cremini mushrooms, capers, cornichons and tarragon, finished with a plant-based yolk made from yellow tomatoes and pumpkin.

The tasting continues with Grace, a creamy roasted cauliflower soup with plant-based bacon lardons, spiced brioche croutons and rosemary oil. Harvest: Sweet Dirt features golden beetroot, Granny Smith apple, toasted black walnuts, cultured cashew chèvre, peppery garden greens and cider vinaigrette.

Be Still provides a pause between courses with a lemon sgroppino of lemon sorbet and chilled sparkling wine.

Gathering: Silk Garden Lasagna layers fresh pasta with shiitake mushrooms, charred leeks, tender garden greens, lemon-cashew béchamel, preserved lemon and crispy capers.

Abundance: Milk & Honey closes the plated tasting with vanilla coconut-milk ice cream, salted honeycomb brittle, toasted shortbread and bee-free honey caramel, accompanied by housemade horchata. Guests will also receive a boxed mini chocolate yule log.

The full culinary experience is plant-based and soy-free. Live music will carry the room from the first sip through the final course, while garden-inspired attire is encouraged to extend the botanical concept beyond the menu.

Funn’s path to Green Genius followed more than 16 years of service in the U.S. Army. After her military career, she pursued culinary arts, wellness and entrepreneurship, graduating summa cum laude from Hudson County Community College’s Culinary Arts program. She later expanded her education into integrative health and holistic nutrition.

Through Green Genius, Funn brings together culinary technique, nutrition, culture and experiential hospitality. The brand’s supper clubs are designed around central stories, allowing food, presentation, music, seasonality and community to become parts of a unified dining experience.

Garden Before Grace represents both an anniversary and the next chapter for Green Genius as the brand continues developing elevated plant-forward dining experiences, catering, culinary wellness education, classes and consulting.

Garden Before Grace: The First Blessing Was the Garden takes place Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at VFW Post 1302, 300 Belgrove Drive, Kearny, NJ 07032. Seating is intentionally limited and advance reservations are required.

Tickets and event information are available at greengeniusmeals.com/events-experiences/.

About Green Genius

Green Genius is a New Jersey-based culinary wellness and experiential hospitality brand founded by Chef Tori Funn. Its work includes plant-forward supper clubs, catering, culinary wellness education, classes and consulting. Green Genius combines culinary technique, holistic nutrition, cultural influence and creative storytelling to create distinctive food experiences centered on wellness, flavor and connection.

Victoria Funn
Green Genius
+1 9734162614
cheftori@greengeniusmeals.com
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