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Honeybee Hotel

The Waldorf Astoria's Rooftop Garden and the Heart of NYC

Leslie Day

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The fascinating story of the urban honeybee garden on the roof of the legendary Waldorf Astoria hotel.

The tale of Honeybee Hotel begins over one hundred years ago, with the Astor family and the birth of the iconic Manhattan landmark, the magnificent Waldorf Astoria. In those early days the posh art deco masterpiece had its own rooftop garden for guests to enjoy. Fast-forward to the turn of the twenty-first century, and we meet executive chef David Garcelon, the creative genius behind the idea of restoring the celebrated rooftop garden. His vision included six hives containing some 300,000...

The fascinating story of the urban honeybee garden on the roof of the legendary Waldorf Astoria hotel.

The tale of Honeybee Hotel begins over one hundred years ago, with the Astor family and the birth of the iconic Manhattan landmark, the magnificent Waldorf Astoria. In those early days the posh art deco masterpiece had its own rooftop garden for guests to enjoy. Fast-forward to the turn of the twenty-first century, and we meet executive chef David Garcelon, the creative genius behind the idea of restoring the celebrated rooftop garden. His vision included six hives containing some 300,000 honeybees, which would provide a unique flavor for his restaurant’s culinary masterpieces. Yet Garcelon’s dream was much grander than simply creating a private chefs’ garden: he wanted the honeybee garden to serve as a bond among people. Soon the staff of the hotel, the guests, local horticulturists, and beekeeping experts formed a community around the bees and the garden, which not only raised vegetables, herbs, and honey to be served in the hotel but also provided healthy food to the homeless shelter across the street at St. Bartholomew’s Church.

Through her meticulous research and interviews with culinary glitterati, entomologists, horticulturists, and urban beekeepers, Leslie Day leads us on a unique insider’s tour of this little-known aspect of the natural world of New York City. She familiarizes us with the history of the architectural and cultural gem that is the Waldorf and introduces us to the lives of Chef Garcelon and New York City’s master beekeeper, Andrew Coté.

Day, an urban naturalist and incurable New Yorker, tells us of the garden’s development, shares delectable honey-based recipes from the hotel’s chefs and mixologist, and relates the fate of the hotel in the wake of the Waldorf’s change of ownership. During our journey, we learn quite a bit about apiaries, as well as insect and flower biology, through the lives of the bees that travel freely around the city in search of nectar, pollen, and resin. This absorbing narrative unwraps the heart within the glamour of one of the world’s most beloved cities, while assuring us that nature can thrive in the ultimate urban environment when its denizens care enough to foster that connection.

Reviews

Reviews

An inside story that will be loved by history buffs, gardening fans, and bee lovers alike.

[Day] weaves details of the bees' lifecycle with accounts of charity events, interviews with chefs and several pages of Waldorf recipes... Honeybee Hotel is absorbing and readable.

Honeybee Hotel is a fascinating and heartwarming story of how nature checked into one of New York's most fabled hotels, and everybody was the better for it. Nobody knows the natural world of the city like Leslie Day.

Like a bee buzzing from flower to flower, Honeybee Hotel takes the reader on a journey from New York City's most storied hotel to a homeless shelter to the inside of a single honeycomb chamber to the ingredients of a Waldorf salad. The through line, of course, is honey. And this beautifully written book is as sweet and delicious as its subject.

A conversational book that weaves natural history, gardening, New York City history, and food into a whole that both entertains and informs. Leslie Day is obviously an engaged, thoughtful, and curious person with whom the reader will enjoy spending some time. Honeybee Hotel will appeal to gardeners, entomologists, historians, preservationists, foodies, and New Yorkers.

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About

Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
5.5
x
8.5
Pages
208
ISBN
9781421426242
Illustration Description
14 color photos, 39 b&w illus., 2 line drawings
Table of Contents

Preface

Chapter 1. Welcome to the Waldorf
Chapter 2. The First American Tycoon: John Jacob Astor in New York City
Chapter 3. Before the Empire State Building, the Waldorf Astoria Stood Here
Chapter 4

Preface

Chapter 1. Welcome to the Waldorf
Chapter 2. The First American Tycoon: John Jacob Astor in New York City
Chapter 3. Before the Empire State Building, the Waldorf Astoria Stood Here
Chapter 4. Life of the Honeybee: From Egg to Adult
Chapter 5. A Good Chef Is Like a Musician: David Garcelon’s Journey
Chapter 6. Life of the Female Honeybee: Janitor, Forager, and Everything In-Between
Chapter 7. An Idea Blossoms: Chef Garcelon’s First Hotel Garden and Apiary
Chapter 8. Life of the Male Honeybee: The Drone
Chapter 9. Twenty Stories High: A Vision of the Waldorf’s Honeybee Garden
Chapter 10. Life of the Queen: Mother of Them All
Chapter 11. Bringing Bees and a Garden to the Waldorf
Chapter 12. Beekeeping through the Ages
Chapter 13. A Match Made in Heaven: St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church and the Waldorf Astoria Hotel
Chapter 14. In the Dark of the Hive: The Sensory World of the Honeybee
Chapter 15. Across the Street, but Worlds Apart: Feeding the Hungry at St. Bart’s
Chapter 16. Apples, Lavender, Tomatoes, and Tarragon—Exploring the Waldorf’s Garden with Chef Betz
Chapter 17. Wings!
Chapter 18. Fare Share Friday: New York City Hotels Give Back
Chapter 19. Epilogue. Saving the Treasures at the Waldorf

Waldorf Astoria Kitchen and Peacock Alley Bar Recipes Using Honey
Acknowledgments
Bibliography
Index

Author Bio
Leslie Day
Featured Contributor

Leslie Day, Ed.D.

Leslie Day is a New York City naturalist. The author of Honeybee Hotel: The Waldorf Astoria's Rooftop Garden and the Heart of NYC, Field Guide to the Street Trees of New York City, and Field Guide to the Neighborhood Birds of New York City, Dr. Day taught environmental science and biology for more than twenty years. Today, she leads nature walks, gives talks, and teaches at the New York Botanical...
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