The Fairmont Royal York has Canada’s largest hotel kitchen, as spacious as three Boeing 747 interiors, that spans over three floors. Located in the heart of downtown Toronto, the hotel possesses many eco efforts that rival some of the most environmentally conscious operations in the world.

From its rooftop herb garden to its basement recycling program, it’s now added a bee apiary in accordance with the Ontario Beekeeping Act, which demands a 30-meter space between hives and homes.

David Garcelon, executive chef, came up with the idea when he noticed a multitude of bees buzzing around the vegetables, herbs and edible flowers growing in the raised wooden beds.

With the fantasy of fresh honey dripping onto his countless gourmet creations, Mr. Garcelon decided to look into the Toronto Beekeeper’s Cooperative, a 6 year old program that tends hives for FoodShare, a non-profit association that sells locally produced food to residents at lower costs.

Volunteers delivered the first two hives, (third batch following in two weeks), this past Tuesday, transferring the teeming colonies into 3 new wooden boxes on the roof.

With the addition of the third batch, the Royal York can expect to see evolution in its apiary, from the existing few thousand to possibly 60,000 bees. Some honey will be generated this year, with 3 yields in an average summer. The hotel should collect about 45 kilos of honey this summer and possibly up to 225 kilos next year.

This is a very exciting addition to the rapidly growing “roof gardens” that are continuing to sprout in major cities all over the world!

http://www.fairmont.com/royalyork