Did you know that May 20th is World Bee Day?!!
In 2019 when Proof of the Pudding moved into our new Atlanta headquarters building the roof top garden was created for the purpose of growing many of the fresh herbs we use in the kitchen daily. We also started a colony of honey bees to produce honey for our recipes in the kitchen!
This year, on this special day we’re making it our mission to bring awareness to how everyone can make a difference in supporting, restoring and enhancing the role of pollinators – while raising awareness of the importance of bees and beekeeping. Founding Executive Chef Vagn Nielsen, our culinary team and the busy bees from our very own rooftop have all contributed to the making of special Honey Poppy Cakes that will be shared with a few of our friends.
Here are some ‘buzz-worthy’ fun facts about our beehive:
• The colony of bees in our rooftop garden are called Italian Honey Bees. They are known for being gentle and non-aggressive bees.
• It takes up to one year to start harvesting honey from a hive. Honey is important for the hive to grow strong and be able to survive the colder months when they don’t collect pollen.
• Bees collect pollen and nectar as food for the entire colony. Nectar stored within their stomach is passed from one worker to the next until the water within diminishes, at that point the nectar becomes honey.
• A hive consists of a Queen Bee, Worker Bees and Drones. The Queen’s only job is to lay eggs and the Drones’s job is to mate with the Queen. The Worker Bees are responsible for everything else – gathering nectar, guarding the hive and honey, and cleaning and producing honey.
• Bees fly up to 3 miles to collect pollen. Which means many of the bees we have on the Proof of the Pudding rooftop will fly all the way down to the Water Works area on Howell Mill Road!
• Our honey bees visit 50-100 flowers during each collection and can harvest several thousand flowers a day.
• The Proof hive boxes were painted by local Atlanta artist, Jeffrey Hollington.
• A single honey bee colony can consist of anywhere from 10,000 to 60,000 bees. The Proof hive consists of about 15,000 bees at a time.
• Our rooftop garden is the perfect place for our employees to go after a long day at work to enjoy a moment of peace in nature.
