An urban bee farm makes Providence's hive-to-table menu a model for sustainability

The Bee’s Knees cocktail at Providence, the Michelin-starred restaurant on Melrose, is true to its name. It’s heady with honey, and the rim is seasoned with bee pollen.

And if you’re a fan of locally produced fare, it doesn’t get more local than this — the honey comes from bee hives in the restaurant’s rooftop garden.

Tristan Aitchison, the restaurant's chef de cuisine, says they initially installed a garden on the rooftop in 2018 to grow the herbs they use for garnishes — mint, basil, sage, thyme, and rosemary—rather than purchasing them in small amounts from a restaurant supplier.

Having the staff simply step outside and trim what they need for the day without leaving leftovers fitted in with their goal of zero waste and increased sustainability.

How the bees came to be

As the garden took off, more fruits and vegetables were added, and it was officially designated a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. This means it’s designed explicitly to provide food, water, and shelter for insects, birds, and other small animals, creating a self-sustaining ecosystem.

The Italian honey bees are the perfect fit for the California ecosystem.

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Robin Jones

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Courtesy Honey Girl Grows

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Aitchison wanted to do more. He'd heard about other restaurants that had installed bee hives in their gardens, bringing in pollinators crucial for growing fresh produce. So he contacted Robin Jones of Honey Girl Grows, a company specializing in regenerative biodiverse gardens. Together, in 2022, they installed rescued local hives containing 160,000 Italian honeybees.

This past summer, the bees produced 13 gallons of honey for the restaurant. Having it so near means the restaurant cuts out packaging waste and truck delivery emissions, lowering its carbon footprint.

Since the bees can travel from 2 to 6 miles during their routine flights, they also help locally, pollinating 10 million surrounding flowers, shrubs, and trees in the neighborhood’s urban ecosystem.

What’s the buzz on the Italian honey bees?

While the Italian honeybees aren’t native to California, Jones points out that they have existed here for over a 100 years, making them a naturalized species. They’re the most popular in the United States for cultivating honey-producing hives because they’re said to be more laid-back and easy to work with — like honorary Californians.

Jones says they’re known as the “golden retrievers of bees", which means that the average Melrose shopper has little to worry about the bees buzzing about high above them.

Robin Jones of Honey Girl Grows holds a portion of the bee hive

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Robin Jones

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Courtesy Honey Girl Grows

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Powered by honey

The honey from Providence has a “fresh floral flavor,” says Aitchinson, slightly sweeter than most other honey. However, the flavor can change yearly, depending on the weather.

Since the honey program began, the restaurant has found endless ways to include the fruits of its labor on Providence’s menu.

Robin Jones of Honey Girl Grows speaks about the world of honey bees to the chef staff at Providence

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Robin Jones

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Courtesy Honey Girl Grows

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The Providence cooking staff removes the fresh honeycomb in different dishes and drinks for the restaurant's zero-waste seasonal menu.

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Robin Jones

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Courtesy Honey Girl Grows

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The honey is jarred and given as gifts. It's used for granola. It pops up in their pastry program, like a white chocolate bonbon with milk ganache made by Chef Mac Daniel Dimla, which encapsulates, according to Aitchinson, a “burst of fresh honey."

It even makes its way onto the savory side of things. Currently, the restaurant is fermenting its honey to use as a glaze on their Liberty Farms Duck, with black figs also grown from the garden.

“We're always discovering new ways to utilize things that the bees provide,” said Aitchinson.