The Fairmont Queen Elizabeth has hosted many famous guests over the years. But now staff are all a-Twitter about a new friend they were recently introduced to. Guests will also eventually enjoy some of what this little lady has to offer.
EXPLAINER MEETS SNOW WHITE.
1 Recently the Twitter account belonging to the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth (@fairmontqueene) shared a photo and tweeted, "Introducing Snow White, the new hotel mascot, who will make our signature goat cheese for the Beaver Club…" This was the photo in question, and the cute little baby goat shown here is named Snow White. She’s also the new official mascot of the hotel. "Several Fairmont hotels have canine ambassadors," Joanne Papineau, Fairmont’s regional director of public relations for Eastern Canada, said via email. "Others have beehives and make their own honey." Indeed, there are 12 canine ambassadors spread out at different Fairmont hotels. But only Montreal’s got a goat. Take that, uppity hotel dogs! "She is one-and-a-half weeks old and her breed is Saanen [a breed from the Saanen valley in Switzerland]," Papineau said. "As she is very young, we now use the milk from her mom." Yes, this mascot will eventually be put to work helping create artisanal goat cheese. Though Snow White is the hotel’s mascot, she actually lives on a farm in Laval. It sits next to the Fromagerie du Vieux St-François, which provides special cheeses exclusively to the Queen Elizabeth.
2 This is sous-chef Martin Paquet, who works at the hotel’s Beaver Club. That’s where they serve Tour Saint-François, Peau d’ours and Ilot de Blanche Neige, three special types of cheese that can only be bought at the hotel or at the farm. The hotel is also working with the fromagerie to develop a special signature cheese for the Beaver Club. For now, though, you can get the cheese plate there for $15. Papineau said the hotel didn’t really go looking for a mascot, but rather, the goal was to "promote small and artisan producers." She said the hotel’s buying power has enabled it to work with local food producers to get special crops, fields and pens reserved for the Queen Elizabeth. And because Quebec is becoming so well known for its cheeses, "we figured it was interesting to partner with a local artisanal cheese maker."
2 comments
And I always thought that mascots were the sole domain of team sports – hell, I never would have guessed that such a prestigious line of hotels as Fairmount would have animal mascots. Seems a little cheesy (pardon the pun) to me. Still as opposed to lazy lie-about mutts, having a goat earning it’s keep seems like quite the good idea. At the very least, though, it’s a mascot in name only as Snow White’s safely ensconced on a farm (calm down PETA) rather than being paraded hither and fro around the hotel. Not only that, the whole concept may well even heighten awareness of some of the sublime local artisan producers too. As quaint little ideas go, this one’s got legs (not to mention milk and cheese)!
It is a shame that you cannot raise livestock like goats in Montreal which once had a proud farming heritage. Laval its sister city had the foresight to preserve its agricultural zones where goats could be raised without creating a nuisance. A hotel in Laval like the Sheraton with its Convention Centre is much more deserving than the Queen Elizabeth to have the goat as its mascot. I am surprised that goat milk is a specialty item in Quebec supermarkets when most of the milk in the world actually comes from goats which produce a more easily digestible milk with better nutrient profile. I sometimes enjoy a Ricotta cheese made from goat milk but it comes from a farm in Ontario. Too much goat milk has been diverted to produce soaps, shampoos and lotions when it should be consumed as food. I find it hilarious that they want to change the laws so that Montrealers can raise chickens in their backyards when goats should be the first priority.