CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Beekeeper Randall York cautiously approaches one of the two hives where bees are doing what bees do: buzzing.
Using a tiny can with bellows, he sends a few puffs of smoke into the hive.
"Just to let them know they got a visitor," he says as he takes off the roof of the hive and pulls out the first of many dripping honeycombs.
This is not happening on some back-road farm, this is on the roof of the posh Ritz-Carlton Hotel in the heart of Uptown Charlotte.
The bees were moved into their penthouse suite last spring as part of the hotel's effort to go "green."
The bees are a key part of the ecosystem on the environmentally friendly roof that also features 18,000 sedum plants and an herb garden that the bees seem to enjoy.
"This brings in pollinators into the heart of Center City that probably wouldn't have been here," says York, who adds he always thought the bees would survive on their lofty perch, but never expected them to thrive as well as they have.
The honeycombs were then hand-carried from the roof down to the kitchen, where Executive Chef Jon Farace was waiting.
"It is huge to have things that are pure," says the chef.
He also applauds the hotel's effort to be environmentally friendly.
"Honeybees pollinate 80 percent of all fruits and vegetables in the United States,” he says. “So without honeybees where would we be as citizens knowing that we can't get certain ingredients?"
After the beeswax is scraped from the honey-filled combs, they are placed in an extractor and spun until the translucent liquid gold starts pouring out.
Chef Farace had already whipped up some honey-pecan ice cream from a previous batch.
The hotel will also use the honey for honey yogurt and other items on the menu.
The honey from the busy bees on the roof could not be any fresher and Farace says that makes a big impact on flavor and at the same time, is something good for the environment.
