Restaurant Pearl Morissette's Garden Tour

 

Following a leisurely three hour Sunday lunch at Restaurant Pearl Morissette with my husband, brother and sister-in-law, we embarked on the popular Garden Tour with former-pastry-chef-turned-resident farmer Shane Harper, who provided us with an eye-opening introduction to regenerative and sustainable farming. Foods that aren’t grown on-site are supplemented by meats and regional goods from local sustainable farmers and fishermen. During our tour, we had the opportunity to learn all about the different herbs, flowers, and vegetables that are grown in the vast garden, in addition to being invited to taste anything we wanted, including rose thyme, sweet grass, flavourful cicely and a curious plant that tasted just like oysters. 

The herb garden is where all of the dishes from Restaurant Pearl Morissette begin, supplying foraged herbs, mushrooms, field greens and berries that find their way into almost every dish on the menu of the winery restaurant. There is a strong effort to reduce the farm’s carbon footprint, and much of the produce, herbs and fruits used in the restaurant are grown on the 1.5 acre regenerative farm. The property is also home to beehives which provide the restaurant with fresh honeycomb that we enjoyed at lunch, as well as hundreds of very happy pasture-raised free-range Lavender Orpington hens. Berkshire pigs, Galloway cattle, White Rock chickens and Muscovy ducks are also raised on the property, providing us with a unique window into the glorious bounty of the property and the Niagara region. 

Over 150 species of annual herbs, perennials, shrubs, edible flowers and more comprise 

a unique pantry that is the starting point for the chef’s inspiration

A family of cats patrol the herb garden for mice and other tasty morsels

Fresh artichokes

Shane Harper provided us with an eye-opening introduction to 

regenerative and sustainable farming

Tomatoes ripening on the vine

Smaller cherry tomatoes

An extraordinary plant that tasted like oysters

These lettuce are being harvested now, with adjacent rows to be harvested 

the following week, and so it goes all season

The lettuce patch with many varieties being grown

White Marigolds

All the herbs and edible flower are staked to show what is being grown

Nastustiums were used as a garnish on our earlier lunch 

Lovely Rhubarb

One of the new crops being grown is Sorghum

Resident Bee Hives

Thousands of buzzing bees

Pasture raised free-range White Rock Hens 

Shane loves his family of hens and proud of the way they roam where they wish

The hens were very tame and friendly, as they poked their beaks out for some love

restaurantpearlmorissette.com/approach