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HUNTSVILLE, ON, May 2006 – Deerhurst Resort Executive Chef Rory Golden knows a thing or two about sticky situations. Working hands-on with local experts, he is transforming his longtime maple syrup making hobby and more recent interest in honey bees into thriving natural attractions at this 800 acre Muskoka retreat.
As a founding member of the Savour Muskoka culinary program, Chef Golden is also on a mission to spread resort-made maple syrup and honey “way beyond our breakfast table toast and pancakes,” serving up his trademark seared pickerel with a maple and cider glaze, maple mustard lamb chops, honey vinaigrette and dozens of other lunch and dinner dishes like maple-infused soups and honey nut brittle.
SUGAR RUSH
In the frosty, winter darkness of Deerhurst Resort’s hardwood hills, maple man Brian O'Donahue starts his day by coaxing his truck down a rutted path. At the other end is the centerpiece of the Deerhurst sugar bush – a gleaming, 400-liter evaporator pan into which hundreds of litres of sap have flowed, siphoned through 1,000 taps and a network of pipelines that, end-to-end, stretches over 10 kilometres.
That’s the modern side to sugaring, a centuries old lesson in native legend, history and science, with the added bonus of sweet treats at the end. Each March guests take a short wagon ride to the resort’s maple forest, where they watch how trees are tapped and sap is still collected using old-fashioned hanging buckets.
A delicate balance of sun, rain, snowfall, and freezing temperatures is what helps the trees turn their starch into sugar. “Like air whistles out of a punctured car tire, sap flows because the pressure on the inside of the tree is greater than the pressure outside the tree. “It takes cold nights and warm days,” explains O’Donahue.
Next it’s down to the wood-hewn Sugar Shack, a hot spot where boiling above 144C converts the watery sap into rich syrup. “It takes a whole lot of sap and work to make a single bottle,” O’Donahue says. (For every 40 litres of sap collected and painstakingly reduced, just one litre of pure Deerhurst maple syrup remains.) This daily ritual of show and tell ends with making your own maple candy in the snow.
During sugaring season, which happily coincides with school spring break, Deerhurst offers a 2-night Maple Syrup Magic package including the sugar bush tour for up to two adults and three children plus $40 in Deerhurst Fun Bucks. The scent of popular pancake breakfasts and a special maple menu waft from the dining rooms.
The resort’s Aveda Spa adds to the tantalizing mix with a year-round Muskoka Maple Body Scrub enriched with vitamins E and B1 and recommended for gentle exfoliation. Even seasonal decorations take a Deerhurst twist on tradition –
a pancake tree is trimmed with flapjacks and waffles baked into ornaments.
SHOP TALK
“Sugaring off” comes replete with its own vocabulary. The sugar bush includes not only the tree groves, but also the buildings and tools needed to produce maple syrup. Sometimes taps are called spiles after the wooden pegs used in casks of ale.
TIDBITS
Along with the beaver, Mounties and hockey, maple syrup is a distinct symbol of Canadian culture, particularly in Ontario and Quebec. Canada currently produces about 85-percent of the world’s maple syrup. So much, that after Norwegian cross-country ski coach Bjoernar Haakensmoen saved Canadian Sarah Renner’s silver medal race at the 2006 Olympics by handing her a replacement pole en route, Canadians launched Project Maple Syrup, collecting 5.2 tons of the sweet stuff which was delivered to the coach with thanks.
BUSY BEES
Starting this spring, “Poppa” Jim Smith will suit up to build some new buzz for Deerhurst Resort’s already acclaimed cuisine. Collaborating closely with Chef Golden, the veteran beekeeper is installing hives on secluded resort grounds for some very high maintenance, honeyed guests.
Equal parts apiarist and homespun philosopher, Smith is meticulous about each detail of these primarily Russian and Italian bees and their busy, 35-day lives. The bees, and Smith, who must smoke and tend the hives in the heat of the day, all have a specific job. No time for sweet talk here, he dives straight into the facts.
“About a third of the human diet comes from plants pollinated by insects. And 80-percent of the pollination of all those crops is accomplished by bees,” notes Smith.
Touted in major medical studies for its disease fighting antioxidants, he simply labels honey a “98-percent pre-processed food that’s actually good for you.”
Gathered at the end of July, then again in August and September, Deerhurst’s first crop of wildflower honey will be scented with a mixture of apples, chokecherries and crab-apples. “It all depends on the bees,” says Smith, “where they go and when.”
Using a basic bowl and spoon along with plenty of elbow grease, Smith makes pots of creamed cranberry honey, a sweet-tart accompaniment to Sunday brunches in Deerhurst’s Eclipse restaurant. Alongside honey, his all natural beeswax candles will soon be on sale in Chef Golden’s new summer shop. And group guests will be fascinated by the constant comb climbing inside Smith’s glass observation hive.
According to Chef Golden, home grown honey and maple syrup aren’t major money makers by any means. But all three men will tell you, “It’s about taste and tradition.” Plus it’s a labour both they and their visitors love.
Deerhurst Resort is home to one of Muskoka’s earliest historic lodges, superstar Shania Twain’s recording discovery and the region’s first modern, 36-hole golf course development. Located on Peninsula Lake just east of the idyllic town of Huntsville, the resort is only 30-minutes from Algonquin Provincial Park and about two hours and two turns north of Toronto. Discover more or book your next getaway at www.deerhurstresort.com or 1-800-461-4393.
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If you would like to obtain more information or reproduction quality photographs, please contact:
Anne White
Director Public Relations
T 416.566.9297
F 416.883.8975
awhite@deerhurstresort.com
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