Photo Opportunity: The Rooftop Garden at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel Welcomes New Crops


From bee hives to basil, Chef David Garcelon of the Fairmont Royal York Hotel is seen as an innovator on the Toronto food scene for his rooftop garden. Now Chef Garcelon will be adding to his rooftop oasis by planting crops from around the world. As a host hotel for the upcoming Indian International Film Awards (IIFA), Garcelon’s garden is set to focus on South Asian produce such as okra, red hot peppers, and small round eggplant --- vegetables favoured in South Asian cuisine. The crops provided by Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, will provide an opportunity for guests at the EPIC restaurant at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel to sample ethnically diverse dishes with local ingredients.  

Renowned Greenbelt winery, Henry of Pelham Family Estate has a host of great summer events. This is a perfect time to enjoy the beauty the Greenbelt offers, while enjoying award-winning local wine.

September Seventh Entertainment and the Hamilton Conservation Authority are pleased to announce the addition of some great new artists and the partnership with the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation for the 2011 Greenbelt Harvest Picnic on August 27 at Christie Lake in Dundas, Ontario -- A part of Ontario's Greenbelt. 

May 26, 2011 

Prepared by Lilian Schaer for the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association  
 
Guelph ON – A new study shows that energy saving initiatives by farmers in Ontario’s Greenbelt are conserving enough energy to power 1,788 homes annually. And on-farm solar panel installations in the Greenbelt are generating enough electricity for an additional 170 homes, says the report completed by engineering consulting firm Agviro, Inc.  

Courtesy Ontario Asparagus Growers’ Marketing Board

As spears of asparagus emerge from the damp spring soils, they remind me of soldiers, as brave as lions, tall and majestic, bold and strong. Their heads reach upwards in a gesture of superior prowess and undeniable pride. As they rise from the earth, they know their nutritional value has won them an A for Amazing goodness. Asparagus contains folic acid, a form of B vitamin which helps in cell regeneration, prevention of heart disease, birth defects, and certain cancers. According to the Washington Asparagus Commission, it is one of the best food sources of folic acid, second only to orange juice. It also contains anti-oxidants and gluthathione, which aid in fighting off free radicals that are toxic to the body.

Last Tuesday the Greenbelt Fund celebrated the third annual Queen’s Park Plate. Presented by the Honourable Steve Peters, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, the Queen’s Park Plate served up Ontario food with a twist – all of the dishes were from chefs from public institutions.

Ontario's freshest website will soon be at your fingertips. This site will focus on growing the business of local food to help meet the demand that many businesses, growers and distributors are facing, as consumers are becoming more aware of the value in sourcing food locally. 

For Immediate Release

May 18, 2011

Toronto, Ontario – From hospitals to major foodservice providers, Ontariofresh.ca has seen steady growth in the number of registrants to this free, new online local food marketplace. On April 4^th registration opened for Ontariofresh.ca, a business-to-business (B2B) website where growers/producers, buyers, distributors, processors and everyone who is interested in growing their business can come together to sell and source local products.

Image from the Ottawa Citizen

To be fair, the fiddlers (being fiddleheads) are not coming, rather they have arrived! I don’t know about you – but I love fiddlehead season! I stuff my face, incorporate them into every meal (well maybe not EVERY meal), eat WAY too many, get sick, decide I could never eat another fiddlehead AGAIN – and then a month or so after the season is over, long for the days when fiddleheads were plentiful. Now I know what you’re thinking…everything in moderation…well let me tell you something – the fiddlehead season is SHORT – and I mean SHORT (about three weeks) so I eat them while I can. You’re probably also thinking – silly girl – why doesn’t she just freeze them. Well.............. I have a teeny tiny freezer but it’s something to seriously consider in the future when I have a normal size fridge!