For a handful of years, Santa Cruz Bee Co. has been keeping rooftop colonies at Hotel Paradox in downtown Santa Cruz. The hotel gets the clout of being a leader in this sustainability initiative and they also get the benefit of slow food in the honey that the hives produce. The hotel bar & restaurant, Solaire, utilizes the hyper-local honey harvest in their signature cocktails, desserts and other culinary creations.
Recently the hotel and restaurant underwent a major renovation. Just yesterday they had their grand re-opening reveal party and it was a smashing success. Santa Cruz Bee Co. was there teaching the party goers about the wonder of honey bees, doing a sensory tour of hive product, and tasting honeycomb from the flourishing rooftop hives with some choice food pairings.
Solaire also has a wonderful new executive chef who was recently profiled in our great local rag, Lookout Santa Cruz. I was glad BeeCo got a nod! If you’re in Santa Cruz, you have to go in and try his “Birds and the Bees Nest” dessert, it’s as delicious as it is beautiful!
I hope you enjoy the article and I hope you get to go eat at Solaire soon :)
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