Radio Royal York

The Fairmont Royal York’s Executive Chef, David Garcelon is pleased to announce that the hotel’s first harvest of rooftop honey has been awarded the honour of 2nd place in the Liquid Honey Amber category in in the Honey and Beeswax Competition at the 86th annual Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, running now through to November 16, 2008 at Toronto’s Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place.

A total of 378 pounds of honey was harvested from the 14th storey triple hive apiary, established earlier this year.  The winning honey was sourced from a combination of the three rooftop hives: The Honey Moon Suite, The Royal Sweet and The V.I.Bee Suite.  Executive Chef Garcelon is thrilled by the 2nd place recognition and notes that, “…our bees are thriving in such a short time. We can only hope to enter more liquid honey categories next year.”

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

Liquid honey points were awarded 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. An additional condition of entry to the competition states that all honey products be donated to the RAWF for sale to the public at the Royal Auction on Sunday November 16.

The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair is a unique event that takes place every November in the City of Toronto. The Royal is the largest combined indoor agricultural fair and international equestrian competition in the world. The fair began on November 22, 1922 with an astonishing 17,000 agricultural entries and over 150,000 visitors. Now in its 86th year, The Royal continues to hold an important place in the world of agriculture and in the hearts and minds of the many participants and visitors – now over 326,000 strong.

Read what The National Post’s Karen Hawthorne had to say about the win.

Three Queens and their accompanying entourage of over 10,000 bees are now in residence atop the roof of Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York. The Queens checked into their 14th story triple hive apiary on June 4th. To mark the royal visit and celebrate their arrival the hotel will offer a “B&B & BEE” overnight city getaway package available from July 5 through to September 1, 2008.

The Fairmont Royal York’s Executive Chef, David Garcelon views the three new hives as a natural extension of the decade old and flourishing rooftop herb garden. The rooftop apiary was established in partnership with the Toronto Beekeepers’ Cooperative and FoodShare. Both initiatives will deliver fresh local product in a sustainable way to hotel guests. For Chef Garcelon, “…you can’t find a supplier much closer than your own roof. He anticipates that “…our bee colonies will deliver some irresistible honey for our guests and at the same time assist with promoting our ecological commitment to bee culture.”

The Fairmont Royal York’s urban beekeeping initiative may also nurture the spread of pollinating bees to the neighbouring Toronto Islands, Don Valley watershed and city parks. Cathy Kozma, of the Toronto Beekeepers Cooperative, confirms that “Their very existence is sure to improve the city’s biodiversity and contribute to the pollination of thousands of plants. The more bees forage the more pollination occurs, improving the whole downtown ecosystem, all the while strengthening the rooftop garden by encouraging more flowers, healthier plants and bigger fruit.”

This summer the “B&B & BEE” overnight city getaway package at The Fairmont Royal York will take care of the Bed, the Breakfast and the Bees. The package includes:

* One night accommodation in a Fairmont Room
* Full Breakfast for two in EPIC or York’s Kitchen
* Valet parking for one vehicle
* A souvenir bee embossed soap
* A one dollar donation the Toronto Beekeepers Cooperative

The B&B & BEE package starts at $224 CAD per night, plus taxes and is based on double occupancy. It is available from July 5 through to September 1, 2008. Package reservations may be by booking online or by calling 1-800-441-1414 and referencing bee code: 1U8BEE.

The Fairmont buzz will spread from coast to coast as several more Queen Bees move into residence at two more of Fairmont’s luxury hotels: The Fairmont Algonquin in St. Andrews, New Brunswick and The Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver, B.C.