Montréal, Québec, April  27, 2011 -- At the end of May 2011, Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth hotel will inaugurate its new rooftop garden on the hotel’s 22nd floor.  This project spearheaded by the hotel’s Environmental Committee was inspired by the Executive Chef's dedication to sourcing local ingredients and his efforts to serve guests the freshest products.

The hotel has previously experimented with indoor and outdoor gardening, starting as early as 1976, when Chef Albert Schnell introduced hydroponic culture in his kitchen to grow varieties of fine herbs that were not available year-round in Montréal. In 1994, Chef John Cordeaux decided to grow aromatic herbs outdoors, on a low roof, accessible only by a window on the 4th floor of the hotel.

In 2010, the hotel reactivated the project with an indoor experiment along the windowsill of the second level of Le Montréalais restaurant. Tended by the hotel’s gardener, this organic vegetable and fresh herb garden brought in surprising results.
 
Encouraged by this success, the Environmental Committee decided to take up urban gardening on the hotel’s main roof which benefits from all-day full sun exposure.  The hotel decided to use an innovative concept in container horticulture that was developed by experts from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and intended for professional organic greenhouse vegetable producers. This low-maintenance system is self-sufficient, and the plants are watered and fertilised automatically with a drip system.

Executive Chef Alain Pignard is looking forward to growing his own produce and explains that "If we try to grow at least part of what we need, in a healthy, low-impact way, and source the rest from small local producers, we will all lower our carbon footprint and reap delicious rewards."

In planting the garden, the hotel also wishes to sow seeds of change, creating Montréal’s first downtown hotel rooftop garden.  The culinary team at Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth wants to bring green to new heights with unique and colorful varieties of herbs, edible blooms, fruits, and vegetables that will be harvested daily for use in the hotel's kitchens and outlets.

Naturally, where there are inspiring ingredients there are inspired chefs for the greatest pleasure of diners.

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is committed to reducing its environmental footprint and Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth  is staying true to company roots. The hotel will follow organic growing practices and compost leaves and plants at the end of the growing season. 

For more information, please contact Joanne Papineau, Environmental Champion at 514/954-2208.