What do the Flammkuchen Pizza, the Caramelized Honey Creme Brulee, and the Blackberry Kiss cocktail from Nineteen17 Restaurant and Bar at the Embassy Suites at Brooks all have in common? They feature honey as a main ingredient — but not just any honey. This honey is made from the restaurant’s on-site beehives located just a few feet away in the hotel’s garden beds.
Depending on the time of year, the hives at Embassy Suites at Brooks house between 3,000 and 30,000 bees. The hives are tended by Gregg Spickler, also known as The Bee Wrangler, and the honey is incorporated into recipes by Rachael Potts, the Food & Beverage Support Manager for Phoenix Hospitality Group, which manages the Embassy Suites at Brooks.
Gregg and Rachael and the rest of the team at Nineteen17 are so passionate about the use of their own honey bees because of the numerous benefits that local honey provides. Honey made by bees that gather pollen in the area may help those who suffer from localized allergies. Beehives are also critical to the ongoing pollination of flowers, plants, and crops, so providing safe and well-managed hives supports the local ecosystem.
Gregg and Rachael and the rest of the team at Nineteen17 are so passionate about the use of their own honey bees because of the numerous benefits that local honey provides. Honey made by bees that gather pollen in the area may help those who suffer from localized allergies. Beehives are also critical to the ongoing pollination of flowers, plants, and crops, so providing safe and well-managed hives supports the local ecosystem.
The honey from the on-site hives is harvested once a year and the culinary team already has big plans for new items on their upcoming seasonal menus. In addition to being used in restaurant and bar production, the restaurant also sells the delicious honey in its 1917 Market. Be sure to ask a restaurant or bar employee how you can take home some of the local honey for yourself!
Fancy yourself a cocktail or culinary connoisseur? Stop into Nineteen17 at Embassy Suites at Brooks to purchase some local honey and try your hand at recreating these honey-inspired cocktails and dishes.
1917 HONEY-CHIPOTLE BLISTERED BRUSSELS
INGREDIENTS
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup canned chipotle in adobo
- ½ lb brussel sprouts
- Oil for frying
METHOD OF PREP
- Puree chipotle in adobo until smooth
- Whisk honey and chipotle to combine
- Cut stems off brussels, and then half them lengthwise remove any loose leaves
- Heat the oil to 350 degrees, monitor with a high temp thermometer, submerge raw cleaned brussels in the oil for 3-5 minutes or until a fork pierces easily
- Remove from hot oil and allow excess oil to fall from the brussels, toss with sauce, salt and pepper to taste
- Enjoy!
1917 BURNT HONEY CRÈME BRULE
INGREDIENTS
- ¾ cup honey
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 large egg yolks
- 3 tablespoons sugar
METHOD OF PREP
- Place honey in a medium saucepan and scrape in vanilla seeds; save pod for another use. Cook over medium-high, swirling pan occasionally, until honey darkens (almost like dark caramel) and bubbling begins to slow, 5–8 minutes.
- Gradually add cream, then milk, to caramelized honey, stirring constantly until combined.
- Whisk salt into egg yolks in a medium bowl, then stream in honey-caramel mixture, whisking constantly. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring cup. Divide among ramekins
1917 COLD BREW BUMBLE
INGREDIENTS
- 1 ½ oz Dripping Springs Vodka
- ½ oz Grand Marnier
- ½ oz Frangelico
- 6 oz Cold Brew
- hive honey
- freshly whipped cream
METHOD OF PREP
- Combine Cold Brew, Vodka, Frangelico and Grand Marnier in a Highball glass
- Sweeten whipped cream with honey and place a good dollop on top of your cocktail, be sure to enjoy the whipped cream with the beverage
1917 BLACKBERRY KISS
INGREDIENTS
- ½ tbsp hive honey
- 1 oz St. Germain
- 2 ea blackberries
- Brut rose of choice
METHOD OF PREP
- In a glass muddle blackberries with honey, transfer to a flute
- Add St. Germain, stir, top off with brut rose