The Cobb Galleria Centre is proud to announce the debut of an on-site herb garden for use by the venue’s kitchen. This on-site garden will support the venue’s sustainability mission and will add local flavor to the cuisine. See the video here.
Staff volunteers have constructed two large raised beds on the campus behind the kitchen, which have been filled with a variety of herbs. Altogether there are 20 different fully developed plants ranging from sage, mint, rosemary and several variations of basil. The herbs yield large quantities of ingredients used regularly in the cuisine of the chefs. “Every other day we pick a five gallon bucket full of basil used to make pesto, basil oil and compound butter,” says Executive Chef Nicholas Walker. “Everywhere we can use basil, we use it. I haven’t bought basil in a month.”
In addition to the ease of having a local garden just outside the kitchen, it has an even greater effect on the environment. Instead of calling in an entire truck for a small quantity of herbs, the garden minimizes pollution and maximizes efficiency since the herbs can be harvested on site.
The garden was the vision of Director of Food and Beverage Kirsten Gleaves. “The goal of having a garden is twofold: Our dedicated Green Team would like to be more sustainable by reducing our carbon footprint even in a small way. Secondly, Chef Walker is passionate about using local products and would love to grow his own herbs, edible flowers and some greens. The garden is our way of combining both of those goals and at the same time will be an ongoing employee team-building project.”
The garden is completely self-sustained within the Cobb Galleria Centre. The boxes were built by the venue’s engineering department, members of various departments helped with the planting, and the food and beverage department takes care of the maintenance and watering. Marigold is planted as a natural repellant for bugs, and there are no pesticides used. The garden remains one of the Green Team’s most hands-on projects, and there are plans for the garden to grow in the near future. Another four raised planters are currently being discussed for installation with an even greater variety of herbs and the addition of vegetables. The seasonal herbs will be replaced in the colder seasons with more weather appropriate substitutes such as kale, lettuce and wheatgrass, and in the spring, other vegetables will be added.
Cobb Galleria Centre is located in the beautifully landscaped 88-acre Galleria complex in prestigious northwest Atlanta. Cobb Galleria Centre is Atlanta’s premier convention facility with 320,000 square feet of event space, four exhibition halls, 20 meeting rooms, four executive boardrooms and a grand ballroom. The Cobb-Marietta Coliseum and Exhibit Hall Authority governs Cobb Galleria Centre, Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre and Galleria Specialty Shops. For more information on Cobb Galleria Centre, visit www.cobbgalleria.com.
