Joe Corrigan, Georgian Vasilescu and Lucinda Corrigan with their award-winning honey. Photo: Supplied.
Local gelato business Spilt Milk Bar has teamed up with Wild Nectar Honey to raise awareness for World Bee Day on 20 May.
The team behind Wild Nectar wanted to showcase their award-winning honey in partnership with another local business and they were impressed with Spilt Milk Bar’s focus on sourcing locally produced ingredients. Wild Nectar has hives scattered across regional NSW, and they’re close to all three of Spilt Milk Bar’s locations in Canberra, Orange and Tamworth.
“It came about primarily through looking for other regional businesses who are really passionate about natural local, high-quality ingredients,” explained Lucinda Corrigan, marketing director for Wild Nectar.
“Partnering with someone regional was important and their ethos aligned with ours.”
Sarah Quigley and Andrew Hamilton started Spilt Milk Bar in Orange and now have locations in Dickson and Tamworth. Photo: James Green.
Parallel mottos of ‘from cow to cone’ and ‘from hive to home’ proved that the two businesses had plenty in common. And for Spilt Milk Bar, the flavour was irresistible.
“As soon as I tasted the honey, I knew it would be great to use in our gelato,” Spilt Milk Bar co-owner Sarah Quigley told Region.
Bees that have fed on Orange Blossoms give this honey a unique flavour. Photo: Supplied.
Wild Nectar uses a cold extraction method, also known as ‘raw’ honey which, unlike most commercial honey, hasn’t been pasteurised. By minimally processing the honey, it retains the flavours of the flowers and nectar the bees have been feeding on.
“We have exclusive access to leases within national parks, state forests and stock routes that give us access to all of these plants when they’re flowering, particularly Australian natives,” explained Wild Nectar’s managing director Joe Corrigan.
“Last year, we had a huge bloom of orange blossoms in the Riverina because of the wet spring. We effectively assist the growers with pollination and the upside for us is we take some honey.”
The honey ricotta ice cream will be available at all three Spilt Milk Bar locations. Photo: Supplied.
The Orange Blossom Honey was crowned the champion commercial honey at the Royal Easter Show in 2023 and this honey will go into the celebratory gelato.
“The orange blossom flavour is so unique that we’ll be simply blending it with some fresh ricotta and our full cream milk gelato to keep the flavour as pure as possible,” said Ms Quigley.
Both businesses wanted to celebrate the importance of pollinators in the ecosystem, highlighting the role of bees in agriculture. World Bee Day felt like the perfect time to collaborate.
“Without a strong, healthy bee population, these exciting, regionally produced ingredients will be much harder to find,” Ms Quigley said.
World Bee Day celebrates the role that these important pollinators play in the environment. Photo: Supplied.
Spilt Milk Bar will be churning fresh batches of the Wild Nectar and Ricotta Gelato for the week following World Bee Day on 20 May across all of their locations.
Visit Spilt Milk Bar’s website, or follow them on Facebook or Instagram to see the opening hours of their stores.
Find out more about Wild Nectar on their website, or follow them on Facebook or Instagram to learn more about their honey.
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