NEW YORK
Perched 41 floors above Manhattan, The Westin New York Grand Central is the latest New York City hotel to cultivate a rooftop vegetable garden.
The organic garden, now growing for its second year, produces vegetables and herbs that are used throughout the food and beverage program in the hotel and THE LCL: Bar & Kitchen restaurant. For the first time the hotel is offering a special spring series of rooftop garden tours, free to the public by reservation.
Thirty-minute guided tours of The Westin New York Grand Central’s rooftop garden will take place each Thursday evenings, led by Executive Chef and Chief Gardener Brian Wieler. Chef Wieler will also discuss the hotel’s culinary program and guests have the opportunity to ask questions during a Q&A session.
The 1,344 square foot garden is situated 384 feet above Manhattan on the hotel’s rooftop and contains eleven planted beds and four robust barrels planted in succession throughout the summer, in order to prolong the vegetable harvest throughout the fall. The garden's yields include arugula, mesclun lettuces, heirloom tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, peppers and fall squashes. Herbs include basil, mint, thyme, oregano and cilantro. The garden utilizes only organic plants, soil, fertilizer and insect deterrents, including eco-friendly ladybugs.
These ingredients are then utilized in seasonal menus, including salads, grilled vegetables and various dishes on the hotel’s spring, summer and fall menus, in dishes such as the tomato & buffalo mozzarella salad. Herbs are used for flavor and seasoning in dishes, while mint is harvested for cocktails including freshly-muddled mojitos.
“As an avid gardener, I’m so proud that our rooftop garden brings such an incredible experience to guests who are interested in eating local,” saysExecutive Chef (and Chief Gardener) Brian Wieler. “As a chef, it is exciting to offer ingredients grown less than 400 feet away that may have been harvested by our culinary team just hours before they are plated and served. That’s a true definition of local cuisine.”
The Westin New York Grand Central offers 15,000 square feet of meeting space.
