For an exclusive bees' eye view of the store’s sixth floor residents, click the beecam tabs above and watch our wonderful bees at work, collecting nectar to make our exclusive Fortnum’s Bees Honey.
HIGH-RISE HONEY
How Fortnum’s rooftop beehives are producing a very exclusive crop of honey
A plan to put beehives on top of a building in the middle of Piccadilly might seem like a flight of fancy. But ever since a colony of bees took up residence on Fortnum & Mason’s rooftop, they have been happily producing a truly delicious honey – so good that these rather exclusive bees have created a waiting list for their produce.
Fortnum’s sweet grocery buyer Jonathan Miller designed the extravagant beehives himself, giving each a distinct architectural style – Roman, Mughal, Chinese and Gothic – as well as a coat of eau de nil paint and some rather elegant gold details. ‘I knew that if we were going to produce our own honey, the hives just had to be something special,’ explains Jonathan. ‘I wanted something distinct and fun but utterly in keeping with Fortnum’s. I decided to use different styles, but all classical ones, the sort that a good Georgian architect would have understood. One result is that the bees have got plenty of space. By bee standards, these are palatial residences.’
It had long been Jonathan’s goal to have bees producing honey on the spot, as it were, rather than brought in from the countryside, and the plan finally took shape in the summer of 2008 when the bees produced their first crop.
The honey, called simply Fortnum’s Bees, was a lovely pale, toffee colour with a soft consistency, a light and delicate flavour and a pleasing finish. That first crop tasted of the Oxfordshire countryside, where the bees had been staying before they were transported to London. The second crop, the result of their forays into London’s parks and gardens, had subtle traces of chestnut and lime, giving it depth and freshness. The bees have a radius of around three miles, which encompasses St James’s Park, Green Park and Buckingham Palace, as well as any number of private gardens. Gardens in London are often planted with a dazzling array of exotic flowers, which means that the honey’s flavour is quite unpredictable, and changes with every crop.
The bees should produce two crops a year, but are very sensitive to the weather; in 2009 a spell of wet weather discouraged their efforts and a second batch never appeared. So Jonathan is eagerly awaiting this year’s late crop, as it will have an entirely different flavour, infused with late summer blooms rather than the tree blossoms of spring.
Not every honey lover can get on to Fortnum’s rooftops to see the hives for themselves, so on their behalf, Jonathan installed a beecam, which has attracted a considerable following. One camera is positioned to track the bees as they fly in and out of their hives; the other captures the view from the hive across the City to the iconic Gherkin, whose shape is remarkably similar to the finials decorating the hive roof. This particular view rather nicely contrasts the simplicity of a hive full of bees, doing what they have always done, with the steel and glass of a brand new building – a human hive, if you like. Jonathan admits that it is rather pleasant to go up on to the roof and see the bees at work – it gives one a sense of equilibrium, amongst the disorder and noise of the city.
Any potential concerns about urban bees can be quickly allayed; the bees are Carnolian bees, known for their gentle ways, so they are less likely to sting unsuspecting shoppers and tourists. In fact, in all the time the hives have been in position, none of Jonathan’s rooftop visitors have ever been stung – not even the bold photographers, poking their lenses in through the hives’ front doors. As for pollution, it is not an issue; nectar sits deep within a plant and is sucked up by the bee’s proboscis, then taken straight to the hive and sealed into the honeycomb, safe from outside influences.
Fortnum’s Bees was just part of a thorough overhaul of Fortnum’s honey range, instigated by Jonathan a few years ago. ‘We’re a British company and we really had to make sure we had a good range of British honeys at the top, which I think we now have,’ he explains. ‘I then wanted to look for world honeys that were fascinating or distinctive.’ As a result he has amassed a wide-ranging selection, collected from places as far apart as Salisbury Plain and Pitcairn Island. Jonathan is happy to startle the tastebuds with his honeys. ‘Not bland is the key,’ he says. ‘I like people to have a reaction, to either love something or loathe it, but not to be indifferent. That’s why I want a lot of variety and look for tastes that are very characteristic. It’s about finding points of difference. I don’t want people saying: “Oh, that’s sort of okay.”’ He recommends lighter honeys, such as English borage, for breakfast, ‘when the palate is more alive’, before working south of the equator as the day wears on, perhaps with a New Zealand Rainforest honey or a Mexican honey, the latest addition to the Fortnum’s range.
But the real jewel in the crown will always be the honey from Fortnum’s Bees. This year’s spring crop is expected in May or June and the second crop - if the weather is kind and the bees are willing - will appear in late autumn. Honey lovers everywhere should pray for a dry summer.
Bee Cam 1
Bee Cam 2
Fortnum's Piccadilly Honey Harvest
Click below to watch the video of our recent Honey Harvest...