The National Honey Board has been a hive of activity lately! We recently teamed up with Omni Hotels & Resorts to create a tasty and refreshing summer poolside menu for 34 Omni locations nationwide, which launched this month and is available until Spring 2016.
The National Honey Board loves how Omni chefs take pride in incorporating a variety of natural ingredients into their menus, especially if it comes from their own backyard. And while honey was just named 2015 Flavor of the Year by flavor innovator Firmenich, for years a number of Omni properties have been harvesting honey from their own beehives and using "nature's sweetener" in various applications throughout their menus. In fact, it was at the National Honey Board's 2014 Honey Beverage Summit where Omni VP of Food and Beverage David Morgan enthusiastically shared his love of honey and all that Omni was already doing to share honey with its guests. And it was from here that Morgan's mind began to swarm with ideas about new ways to include honey on the menu.
In March, we hosted a mini Honey Summit for Omni chefs at Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort, featuring our very own National Honey Board ambassador Chef David Guas, in partnership with Omni Regional Executive Chef Daven Wardynski, and Master Mixologist Kim Haasarud – the "queen bee" of honey cocktails. Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort was the perfect site for our event, with eight beehives that produce approximately 1,200 pounds of honey at harvest and an executive chef who also is passionate about bees and honey. After an educational weekend exploring the many nuances of honey, the team combined its culinary expertise and creativity to create Omni's poolside menu that is buzzing with delicious honey-inspired food and drinks.
Make sure to check out the video highlighting Omni's love affair with honey, and its sizzling new "One Sweet Summer" pool menu and promotion.