A hotel in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales have welcomed two new beehives, housing dark European bees whose honey will be used within the luxury hotels award-winning menus.
Guests at The Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa at Bolton Abbey will now be able to sample the businesses own amber nector which is being included in their home-made ice-cream on The Burlington’s à la carte dessert menu, in a specially created cocktail in the bar, on honey-glazed, Dales-reared pork for Sunday lunch, and as part of the hotel’s renowned breakfast selection.
The honey bees have been the perfect addition to the hotel’s Victorian walled kitchen gardens which provides much of the salads, fruits, vegetables and herbs for the kitchen team. The honey itself is full of Yorkshire flavour, with the bees’ main food sources being pollens, not only from the kitchen gardens and surrounding cottage gardens, but also from the nearby moorlands on the Dale.
Andy Seward, who Concierge at the 17th century coaching inn and now also Hotel Beekeeper, is relishing his new role, and said: “The bees have settled in really well over the summer months and we were pleased with the quality and quantity of the first harvest. Luckily the bees we have chosen are known for their good temperament, it’s a fascinating hobby and I am really looking forward to imparting my new knowledge and sharing my enthusiasm for beekeeping with guests next season.’
As well as being a tasty addition to the hotel’s pantry of local foods, the beekeeping also complement the green policies of the business, for which they have been awarded Gold in the ‘Green Tourism Business’ two years running. There has been much publicity given to the reducing numbers of honey bees worldwide. Once the bees are more settled in their new environment, it is planned to offer visits to the hives for hotel guests.