Unfolding over 12 courses, three-Michelin-starred SingleThread’s omakase-style dinner, ThroughLine, is an immaculately immersive culinary experience.
The most recent 14-seat affair was part of the Healdsburg, California restaurant’s residency at the Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberge Resorts Collection, a breathtaking retreat outside Park City. ThroughLine invited guests to indulge in not just the food on their plate, but also the stories of the people and traditions that keep food systems alive. Accompanying the 12 courses were eight films directed by Emmy-nominated filmmaker Justin Taylor Smith, in which Chef Kyle Connaughton and Head Farmer Katina Connaughton—the husband-and-wife duo behind SingleThread—travel to communities in Sonoma, Japan, and elsewhere, highlighting the culinary artistry they encounter.
On the second night of the residency, which ran across two weekends this February, CULTURED experienced ThroughLine firsthand. Displayed on a TV screen in a bespoke, private dining room, the film’s eight chapters slowed the pace of the three-hour dinner, introducing guests to SingleThread and pairing captivating scenes of the Connaughtons's travels with conversations on responsible food systems. “There’s a larger story to tell that we really wanted to illuminate,” Katina said in the film. “When you start to peel back the layers, you start to realize how many people and all the care and dedication that go into it.”
The lights dimmed as each chapter unfolded. In one, clips of Katina’s joy gathering a colossal cauliflower head from the farm offered hints about the ingredients yet to be served. When the lights returned, that excitement was shared with diners, who sampled the harvest alongside black goma and chervil that lifted the light saltiness of Czar Nicoulai caviar.
Then, the lights dimmed again and footage documenting divers gathering sea urchins in Santa Barbara began to play. As the clip ended, SingleThread’s chefs reentered carrying dishes that paired the sea urchins’ sweet and briny umami with rich, buttery abalone. In another chapter, the Connaughton’s explored the importance of ocean health on the screen as California Dungeness crab legs sizzled in brown butter and kani miso just inches from the guests.
“It’s not just about the food on the plate—the vegetable that we’re eating, the seafood we’re enjoying,” Kyle said. “It’s about what’s behind that. Behind that delicacy is so much important work that’s being done.” With an abundance of moving parts and immaculate details throughout the evening, it was hard not to think of the work that went into just one dinner.
As the program continued, ThroughLine emphasized SingleThread’s focus on the environment. Katina explained how the practices go beyond a label and reflect a way of living. “I don’t want to call it sustainable. I don’t want to call it organic or regenerative,” she explained. “Of course these are all things that factor into what we do, but what we’re really doing is just trying be responsible…[we] listen to what the land needs in real time rather than dictate to it what our needs are.”
SingleThread shares this ethos with its official automotive partner, Audi. This partnership launched in June 2024 and gives guests of the Sonoma restaurant and inn access to a fleet of Audi e-trons. ThroughLine is an extension of their partnership and marks SingleThread’s third residency at the Lodge at Blue Sky, with Audi transporting diners in the all-new, fully electric Audi Q6 e-trons. The residency is also in partnership with Miele and OpenTable. In April, SingleThread will bring ThroughLine to Wildflower Farms, Auberge Resorts Collection in the Hudson Valley.
As seamlessly orchestrated as it is unique, the beauty of ThroughLine lies in the experience itself—from the ingredients in season to the synergy between the chefs and the guests themselves. As the Connaughtons said often, “We tell the story of today. We’ll never be able to replicate that moment.”
