Tell us a bit more about your background and your current work: 

Now I’m a nomadic beekeeper, but, before, I was nomadic in a different way. I traveled a lot thanks to my family and to my studies. When I finished high school, I went to Australia for almost a year. Then I studied Chinese in Venice and then I went to China for six months. After graduation, I spent one month in Taiwan to promote the quality of Italian honey. When I came back, I went to Rome in order to study economy and management with a focus on Made in Italy and luxury products. I finally settled back in my home region to be a beekeeper. 

Our company, Mieli Thun, views honey as the food of the present and of the future. Our honey can be defined in 16 words: local, vegetable, raw, healthy, natural, essential, sweet, artisanal, unavailable, limited, atavistic, holistic, environmentally friendly, peaceful, maternal and seductive, pure. Every area produces honey with specific physical and sensorial properties corresponding to the place and the time of its production. We move our bees around, creating honeys that are like snapshots, and detailed images of woods, mountains, or farmland. The quantity of honey produced is limited to what the surrounding land can give, and not a drop more can be had unless mother nature allows it; by its very nature, it can only be had in season, during its natural period of production, from one year to the next.

To understand bees in their multifaceted complexity, you need to have a comprehensive view of life on our planet. If we could morph into bees, we’d understand all the interactions. When we associate cheese and honey, few actually realize that their real relation does not lie in the plate, but in the pastures where the animals graze, always subject to the pollinating action of the bees, of the selective feeding of the herbivores and their fertilizing of the soil. 

Which honey is your favorite?

I don’t have a favorite honey. I have different favorite honeys for specific dishes. I think that honeys are like songs; you should have “happy” honey for happy moments and “melancholy” honey for sad times. 

Why did you choose to stay in Italy?

At the beginning, I didn’t, but when I left, I realized that my heart belongs to the place where I grew up. I also realized the infinite heritage of Italian products, craftsmanship, and tradition. I decided to contribute to this. 

What do you see for the future of the food industry in Italy?

I’m a little scared about it, especially for the younger generation. I grew up in a time when there were fewer experiments on food: apples taste like apples (not like plastic) and meat was from cows, pigs, and so on, not from a laboratory. I think that now and in the near future, we have to grit our teeth and fight to defend natural and genuine products.

Hives rhymes with lives. They are an unequivocal indicator of a healthy environment. Beekeeping has more at stake in the protection of the environment than any other economic activity: wildfires, floods, landslides, occupation of natural habitats, industry and chemical products used in agriculture are all threats to beekeepers, who watch vigilantly over the health of the planet and spread an environment-friendly message, often mediating and translating the buzzing of the bees, a sound every insect can hear. Bees are, by their very nature, the link between the world of man and that of insects, but often their voices go unheard. 

Plus, with the onset of sugar, honey was demoted, obliterated, and forgotten. Its health-promoting qualities were forgotten, along with its aromatic characteristics and versatility. Today, thanks to a renewed interest in nutrition and a return to cooking, it is making a comeback and reclaiming its place, establishing itself in dishes in complete parity with other precious ingredients.

What are the greatest obstacles and satisfactions that you face working in this country?

In general, I find that being a female entrepreneur in Italy is not so easy. It’s a very male-dominated sector. Luckily I have my bees, which are 90% females. However, I enjoy working here because I’m always pleased and surprised about the consideration and appreciation of Italian products abroad.