Beehives grace the roof of Paris’ Grand Palais, making more honey here than in the countryside according to the official beekeeper. Slovenia has made a bet on beekeeping tourism as its niche in the world of travel. In New York City last year there was a Beekeeper’s Ball. And select luxury hotels across North America are making their own honey, but none in South Florida until now. Plus, an oh so sweet menu.
John Sexton, Executive Chef of Turnberry Isle Miami had a mission to setup beehives, harvest honey and develop honey- inspired menu items for the resort’s five restaurants (including Bourbon Steak and Corsair by Scott Conant) and for special events. Happily he made it all happen, and has even had his first harvest, 80 pounds of the golden nectar.
We visited the sweet spot, a corner of the nursery on the hotel’s over 300 acres where there are now over 20,000 bees making what is being called Turnberry Gold. Mr. W and several other guests suited up to observe the bees doing their thing up close and personal with, I might add, no risk of being stung (bees are reluctant to sting, doing so only when they feel threatened as they die once they sting). Here are some fascinating factoids we learned about bees:
- Bees have nature’s answer to a GPS. When they leave the hive they can find their way back.
- Where the hive is located will determine the flavor of the honey. Want orange honey? Put the hive in a citrus grove. Avocado honey? Surround it with avocado trees.
- There are 10 times more males than females.
- Where did the expression “busy as a bee” come from? Bees never stop working.
- Honey can last thousands of years. Some has been found in the tombs in Egypt.
After seeing the hives we went to the kitchen to see how the honey is extracted from the hive foundation – with a kitchen spinner that throws off the precious nectar. We sampled three kinds of honey: commercial variety to show us the difference from the home grown, often from China and imbued with color to make it look rich amber; a light, peppery variety; and a denser variety that was aged 50 days. The differences were dramatic.
After the tasting it was on to dinner in a wonderful private room called the Glass Box in Bourbon Steak. We had six courses paired with appropriate wines. Among our favorite dishes were the gold honey & harissa seared prawns with smoked yogurt, stewed mango, and piquillo pepper roasted corn. The sweet and sour combination of flavors was unexpected and exciting, and the shrimp was sparkingly fresh. Another standout was the honey-fennel pollen seared snapper with salt baked sunchokes ,also called Jerusalem artichokes ,which were roasted and then seared in aged honey butter. They tasted like roasted red potatoes but infinitely more delicious and crunchy. Meat eaters loved the braised veal cheek, the chef’s homage to barbecue, served with Peruvian potato, meltingly tender and flavorful.
My hands down favorite was the walnut tuiles which are the subject of an upcoming Fabulous Friday so I’ll leave the description and recipe until then.
Honey inspired menu items can be requested in a private banquet and are rotated among restaurant menus throughout the resort.
Turnberry Isle Miami, 19999 W.Country Club Drive, Aventura (T.305-932-6200).
Photography by William Oberheiser
