Montreal melons: A city's forgotten fruit, and the modern farms preserving its agricultural heritage

And catching up with David McMillan during a delivery run of Montreal melons to chef Ari Schor's Verdun restaurant Beba.

J.P. Karwacki

17 août 2024- Read time: 5 min

The Montreal melon is the story of a unique fruit to the city: Known for its light, sweet taste, distinct from other melons, it was once a local delicacy but disappeared for decades.

High-end restaurants and hotels in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia would order large shipments of these melons, selling them at extremely high prices, and they could be found on the dining tables of royalty.

Today, it’s being kept alive when grown at Montreal’s old Hippodrome site known locally as the Blue Bonnets Farm, researchers like Bernard Lavallée, and even David McMillan and his Hayfield Farm in Saint-Armand, Quebec.

“It's an oddity because as it's a ‘Montreal’ melon, we have a little bit of pride about it. People are very curious whenever I post about them,” David told us during a delivery run to chef Ari Schor at Beba.

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