Peterborough plans novel fine dining experience under famous lift lock

Peterborough Lift Lock. (Photo: Parks Canada)

Lock 21 on the Trent-Severn Waterway is an engineering marvel, its two water-filled basins alternately rising and falling about 20 metres throughout the day.

Opened in 1904, it’s the world’s highest hydraulic lift lock. Starting this fall the national historic site in Peterborough, Ont., is also set to become the unusual locale for a fine-dining experience.

Tourism officials in the city are developing plans for what they’re calling “Under Water Dining at Lock 21.” The idea is for diners to sit at tables placed beneath a raised lock chamber after it has finished its up-and-down dance of the day.

Locally sourced food will be featured in the cavernous space, said Kelly Jessup of Peterborough and the Kawarthas Tourism.

“It’s literally the underbelly of the lock,” Jessup said.

“Nobody ever goes in there. It’s not a public space. They don’t tour inside the lock on a regular basis, so it will be a very exclusive experience.”

Participants will work up an appetite by paddling a voyageur canoe along the waterway and into the lock to learn about its history and how it works.

During a test run last month, a dozen guests downed shots of maple syrup and feasted on trout, wild rice, duck eggs, asparagus, poached rhubarb and beef tartare. The diners then retired to the lock’s turbine chamber for dessert: terrines of fresh Ontario strawberries with coriander and chevre.

“Those people who did this experience were the first 12 people ever to dine under the lift lock,” Jessup said. “They were eating under 71,000 tonnes of water”—the contents of the basin above their heads.

Prices for the experience have not yet been determined. After its planned fall launch, organizers are hoping to make it a permanent fixture in Peterborough by 2017, Jessup said.

Peterborough and the Kawarthas Tourism is partnering with the Canadian Canoe Museum, the Trent-Severn Waterway and area food providers on the project. The museum, located in the city, already offers voyageur canoe tours on the waterway.

The lock is “definitely something that’s unique to Peterborough and the Kawarthas,” Jessup said. “What we’re trying to do is leverage those assets in our region that are special.”