Bees Knees
Honey:
A thick, golden liquid produced by industrious bees, honey is made using the nectar of flowering plants Bees produce honey from the flower’s nectar through regurgitation, enzymatic activity and water evaporation.
Honey's color, taste, aroma and texture vary greatly depending on the type of flower a bee frequents. Clover honey, for example, differs greatly from the honey harvested from bees that frequent a lavender field.
It’s the Bees Knees dinner features Kittilsen’s Wildflower Honey in Debert. The Kittilsen farm is a first generation farm, meaning Paul and Lori Kittilsen established it themselves. There are approximately 230 active beekeepers in Nova Scotia but the Kittilsens are one of the few full-time beekeeping operations in the province, producing about 75 pounds of honey per hive, per year.
Read more about the Kittilsen family.
Our featured researchers:
Dr. Chris Cutler – is the Associate Dean of Research and a professor in the department of Plant, Food and Environmental Sciences. Dr. Cutler is an entomologist and studies insects – in particular - wild pollinators
Dr. Bruce Rathgeber - is an Associate professor specializing in poultry.
Dr. James Duston -Â is a professor specializing in finfish aquaculture.
HÂþ» Chef Ted
My passion for food started at a young age. Cooking with my grandmother, hunting, fishing, and working in my grandfather’s vegetable garden, working on commercial farms picking blueberries, and strawberries. I was often found with my grandfather walking in the woods looking for seasonal harvests when I was younger. These just being a few of the many things that ignited my passion for culinary.
I decided in my youth that I would pursue and study the culinary arts. I attended the Culinary Institute of Canada in Prince Edward Island and graduated top in my class and have remained in the industry for 25 years. Working in 5 star hotels, restaurants, and Country Inns all across Canada has gotten me to where I am today. I have served the rich, famous, and royalty, but I always end up back where I started, looking for quality ingredients and preparing simple yet high quality meals. Enjoying what the people eat is what is important to me, my passion for food is what has kept me in the industry and loving what I do.
Being a father of 3 amazing children, I have found joy in teaching my kids to cook, as well as use the resources we grow in the garden. Growing things like local, fresh, and seasonal foods in our family garden makes obtaining fresh and healthy ingredients for my family much more accessible. If not from the garden, we go on day trips to local farms and support small businesses and collect good food at the same time. While also being my profession, culinary has touched all parts of my life, bringing everyone closer together.
I couldn’t have asked for a better life, family, or food. I am greatly looking forward to working with all the next generation of agriculture and passing on what I have learned in my years full of learning, exploration, creation, and fun.