The Importance of a Herb Garden

Our Artic Char Dish

(Seared, Celeriac Puree, Heirloom Beets, Port/Truffle Foam)

Royal York Rooftop Herb Garden

120 000 Royal York Worker Bees

My Home Herb Garden

Herb Gardens are both easy to manage and a pivotal aspect of creating good quality products out of a kitchen. I am not a food snob (well...), yet, I firmly believe a plate will only be as good as the ingredients in it. Obvious right? But when you let assumptions between similar ingredients determine they are both the same... the expression, 'the devil is in the details' comes to mind.

Both at home and at work, I believe there is no substitution for fresh herbs. The difference between dry and fresh is stunning if you were to compare each side by side. The best demonstration of this is to take a look at fresh basil and it's dry counter-part. Note the total loss of sweet fragrance in the dry basil which is abundant in the freshly cut, julienned leaves.

At home, I grow Basil, Thyme, Rosemary, Sage, Savory, Marjoram, Mint, Lavender, Chives, and Oregano. These are essentials I cannot work in a kitchen properly without.

Work is another story all together. The Royal York has become famous for it's 120 000 Honey Bees along with the rooftop herb garden. Amongst the 1000 lbs or so of honey which will be extracted this year (which we use in a huge variety of dishes from our Canadian Artisan Cheese Plates, to the Wild Mushroom Soup Recipe), we grow a multitude of edible flowers (used on cold plates as garnish), lettuces, chilies, mountain berries (dessert garnish), random veg (squash, tomatoes, Japanese eggplants) and herbs. A cook from our restaurant will make a trip daily up to the rooftop to obtain necessary herbs and plate garnishes for the evening service. Along the typical snips of chives, thyme, basil, and edible flowers, we have been working on a finishing butter using the rooftop Nasturtiums for our Artic Char dish.