Eltham Bees are a small family business running over 80 colonies, including some at University of Greenwich’s Avery Hill campus

The Great Taste awards, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, is the acknowledged benchmark for fine food and drink and have awarded Eltham Bees their prestigious seal of approval.

Apiary One, where Eltham Bees are based, is situated behind the pond of the Edible Garden at the Avery Hill campus of the University of Greenwich and is managed by Colin Edwards and Eltham Bees.

“I’ve always loved working with the bees having worked alongside a bee farmer in my teens” says Colin.

Sustainability is a big part of the ethos at Eltham Bees, their hives are made in the UK from local red cedar and over the years they moved away from foreign queens and now run all UK bred queens. They also recycle their own beeswax for new wax foundation sheets adding to their recycled sterilised wooden frames.

Colin said:

“Our beekeeping season started as usual, checking for signs of swarming and diseases. In January of 2022 we sent our entry to the Great Taste competition. Our bees had a relatively good build-up for the spring crop, which in the end was great for us because then they were in excellent condition for the main honey flow. When last year’s heatwave arrived, it put increased pressure on myself and the bees. Water for the bees was critical at this time so the sustainability pond was a great help in processing honey inside the hives. On the 1st August I received a phone call from Good Foods telling me we had one an award for our honey. This was the cherry on the cake with our second largest crop of all time.”

Head of Sustainability at the University of Greenwich, Simon Goldsmith said:

“It was great to hear that our hard-working University of Greenwich bees are producing award winning honey. I recommend everyone try to taste it, it is so much tastier to the often bland tasting honey sold in supermarkets. It is great to support a local business creating local and sustainable food and this fits our corporate commitment to support not only our communities but also helping us protect nature. We do this by sowing meadows and encouraging nature to thrive on our campuses.”