Petals and Plates tour launches in Canada
Flowers Canada (Ontario) and pickOntario announced a new dining experience called Petals and Plates, a series of flower-focused farm dinners that highlight Canadian flower growers and their importance in Canada’s agricultural landscape.
“Each dinner will be a complete sensory experience, yet unique from each other in that the table will be surrounded by a different crop of flowers,” said Jesseline Gough, marketing coordinator at Flowers Canada (Ontario), in a news release. “These dinners are a celebration of local flowers, food, wine, and the people who produce these wonderful things for all of us to enjoy.”
A 100-seat table, decorated by a local floral designer, will be placed in the middle of a commercial greenhouse in full bloom, and a local chef will serve a locally sourced, four-course, artisan meal. Preceding the dinner there will be a tour of the greenhouse led by the owners, a cocktail and appetizer hour with local beer and wine, and a Flower Crown and Boutonniere Bar where participants will design their own floral creations.
The first three 2017 Petals and Plates dinners on the schedule are located at Rosa Flora on Sept. 16, Van Geest Bros. on Oct. 14, and Cosmic Plants on Oct. 28.
“We see this as an excellent opportunity to inform the public about the floral sector in Ontario and how important it is for the overall economy, jobs, health and happiness,” Joshua Bulk, owner at Rosa Flora in Dunnville, ON, Canada, told The Produce News. “Doing a dinner similar to Field to Vase [organized by Certified American Grown in the U.S.] is a natural extension of our effort to include people outside of floriculture to experience what we take for granted every day.”
By including a tour of the facilities, participants can experience the art, sustainable practices, challenges and hard work of being a flower farmer in Ontario. And at the conclusion of the dinner, all attendees will receive a flower-lovers swag bag filled with goodies, including local Ontario-grown flowers, to take home.
“The best thing about this type of dinner is that guests can mingle with farmers, florists and fellow flower lovers, eat amazing locally sourced food, and hear and share stories about why buying local is a movement worth celebrating,” said Gough in the release.
For more information, go to www.petalsandplates.ca.
