Radio Royal York

Following the trend set by Toronto’s annual Winterlicious event, The Fairmont Royal York Hotel’s Four Diamond restaurant, Epic, will be offering a special prix fixe lunch and dinner menu.

Epic Chef, Ryan Gustafson, is a strong advocate of sustainable farming and the hotel’s partnership with Ocean Wise, a seafood preservation program. Sustainability is reflected in the fish and shellfish selections as well as in local produce.

Chef Gustafson delivers a three course prix fixe menu at $25 for lunch, Monday through Friday, and $45 for dinner, seven days a week (exclusive of taxes and gratuities). The menu provides guests with the options of fish, beef or pasta as a main and a choice of three equally appealing appetizers and two desserts choices.

Wine pairing suggestions accompany the menus. The Fairmont Royal York hotel is respected for its Ontario and international selections and has been a recipient of the VQA Award of Excellence for the past two years.

Epic is opened for lunch from noon until 2 p.m., Monday through Friday. Dinner is served daily, Monday through Sunday from 5:30 p.m. until 10 p.m. For more information or to make a reservation, please call 416 860-6949 or visit the Epic Website.

Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York Hotel will turn off its lights and light up more than a thousand candles in support of the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF), Earth Hour. Guests will have the opportunity to partake in this global initiative by participating in the hotel’s “green” inspired activities when the lights go out for 60 minutes beginning at 8:30 p.m on Saturday, March 27th, 2010.

The Fairmont Royal York’s neon rooftop sign will go dark, signaling the hotel’s “Green Team” to power down the exterior, awning and canopy lights in unison with millions of Earth Hour participants worldwide. Inside the hotel, the team of over 30 eco-cautious colleagues will light the lobby with candelabras and hundreds of tea lights to be placed throughout the hotel for Earth Hour.

On Saturday, March 27, The Fairmont Royal York’s Library Bar will welcome guests to a unique candlelight service and bring back the popular Earth Hour inspired drink menu featuring: the Polar Cap, a cool vodka drink in a highball glass; the Organic Globe, an icewine martini; and the Carbon Footprint, a mindful drink featuring local honey, apples and single malt in a rock glass.

The hotel’s health club invites guests to experience relaxation in a different light. Unwind in the hotel’s whirlpool or take a swim in the pool, illuminated by the glow of surrounding candles. The special candlelight swim is offered exclusively to hotel guests from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, March 27, 2010.

Guests are also encouraged to participate in the environmental activities by turning the lights out in their rooms by way of a book mark accompanying their key cards and at the evening “turn down.”

Earth Hour is a global event created by the WWF to help raise awareness and assemble millions of people to take action on climate change. In 2008, The Fairmont Royal York was the first hotel in Toronto to register its Earth Hour participation. The event will mark the unification of The Fairmont Royal York hotel with an expected 30 million people worldwide in over 4000 cities.

A 360-degree view of the lobby of The Fairmont Royal York Hotel shot with the new Yellowbird technology by Toronto’s Zazz Media. To check out the 360 viewing just click, pull, drag and drop your mouse in any direction while the video is playing.

Yellowbird was started by Marc Groothelm and Rafaël Redczus, two Dutch innovators. The camera used to capture the 360-degree view uses six cleverly divided lenses and a surround sound microphone system. The technology is similar to what Google uses in Street View.

The Fairmont Royal York’s Executive Chef, David Garcelon, is proud to announce that the hotel’s late summer rooftop harvest was awarded third place in the Dark Honey category at the 86th annual Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. The honey was judged in the Honey and Beeswax Competition and placed for the second consecutive year.

The dark honey was extracted from the hotel’s late summer harvest of September 25, 2009 and judged on November 8, 2009. The roof top bees have slowed their honey production for the season. Their hives will soon receive their seasonal jackets, in preparation for winter, this coming Sunday, November 22, 2009.

Weather has great influence on bees and their honey production.

“Honey production was down this summer due to the rainy weather,” notes Chef David Garcelon, Executive Chef at the hotel, “…despite the rain we were able to harvest nearly 500 pounds of honey.”

The 14th floor roof top apiary was established on June 4, 2008. Three new hives were added this season and have grown strongly in population and strength.

There are now a total of six hives on the roof: The Honey Moon Suite, The Royal Sweet, The V.I.Bee Suite, The Bee & Bee Suite, Stayin’ A Hive Suite and Home Sweet Comb. On November 22, all six hives will be winterized so that the bees may continue their rooftop residency throughout the coming winter.

A 500 gram sample of honey, contained in a regulation sized honey jar, was submitted for judging in the dark honey category. The color of the award-winning honey was determined using a honey classifier approved by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

“The honey produced at the hotel tends to be a light, early summer honey and a thick, dark late summer variety,” said Mylee Nordin, Toronto Bee Cooperative member. “The colour reflects the plants and green life that surround the hotel.”

Judges awarded points for flavour and aroma, uniform level of fill, density, colour, freedom from crystals, freedom from foreign material, freedom from air bubbles, uniformity of honey, brightness and appearance and uniformity of containers.

You can follow the excitement of this year’s honey harvest, including interviews with Chef Garcelon and Mylee Nordin, by tuning into Episode #9 of Radio Royal York.

On Wednesday, November 11, 2009, the public is invited to join The Fairmont Royal York for their annual Remembrance Day Ceremony.

A tradition for 64 years, The Fairmont Royal York’s staff and guests salute the achievements and sacrifices of our veterans who served our country in times of war during the 20th Century. The traditional ceremony begins at 10:55 a.m. and includes a memorial display, military music and two minutes of silence at 11 a.m. sharp.

The Fairmont Royal York invites all guests, colleagues and the public to join. A retired Fairmont Royal York employee, a war veteran who returned to work at the hotel after serving his country, will join in the lobby for the observance. Live piper, members of the Canadian Armed Forces and the Toronto Police will also be present.