Paris’ s top restaurants, the Opéra, Louis Vuitton: rooftop beehives are the latest must-have for the best French addresses. Margaret Kemp samples the sweetness
Ever since the achingly chic Left Bank restaurant La Tour d’Argent announced the installation of six beehives on their rooftop overlooking the Seine, beekeeping is the new black in Paris. The Tour’s ‘must have’ honey pots, with notes of linden and lavender, are sold in the restaurant’s boutique (www.latourdargent.com) and used by chef-patissier Guillaume Caron in his fig and honey dessert.
Pollinating bees thrive in Paris where pesticides are banned, working balconies, parks and tree-lined boulevards. ‘Spraying chemicals disrupts bees’ nervous systems, making them vulnerable to disease,’ explains apiculteur Nicolas Géant. ‘Bees are an important part of the food chain, playing a major role in agriculture by pollinating crops.’ ‘Nicomiel’ (Nick the honey), as he’s known, supplies beehives and swarms to wannabe honey-makers from his emporium near Paris (www.
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