Estelle Fleuret and her partner Anthony live just around the corner (50m) from our family friendly holiday cottages here at La Grange du Moulin. They moved in a couple of years ago and Miel d'elle is Estelles own business. She started out by taking over the hives and business ofPhilippe et Annie Milliot, and also works with Anthony who has been in the bee business since a child with his parents who also have a thriving honey business in the area. She has over one hundred bee hives in the local area and works extremely hard in their care and maintenance . This is so important now more than ever - not just in the production of honey for our pleasure, but for the survival of the bees themselves and subsequently so many plant species too.
If you are interested in buying some very local honey then we can organise a visit to Estelles home where they bottle the honey and also produce Queens. It's a small family business, not a large shop with a glossy tour which makes it even more special and interesting. Visits are by appointment only, but give us some advance notice and we can organise one for you but would rather you only ask if you intend to buy some honey at the end - they are busy people and close neighbours !
On my visit, of particular interest was when she showed me her Queen colonies. Hives specifically designed so the Queens eggs all turn into Queen bees. To buy a Queen costs about 8€ which doesn't sound a lot until you hear that they go through hundreds of Queens a year. Plus the nearest Queen producer is in Royan and transporting a Queen that distance is a risky business as temperature control is very important and your queens could die before reaching home. So Estelle has learnt how to produce her own. It's time consuming but is certainly worth it. Estelle produced 2000 Queens last year. Those she could not use, she sold to friends in the bee business at a discount. She explained that if a Queen isn't working, is a bit under the weather or just not a good egg producer, they will replace her straight away. An underperforming Queen will cause the whole hive to die very quickly.
They also have a hive that has glass walls. It's amazing to see the bees working inside the hive. You can really see where we got the expression 'busy bee' !
They produce a number of different types of honey. From Classic 'Spring' flower honey and 'Sunflower' honey; to Chestnut, Bucktooth and Blackberry honey. Sold in 250g, 500g and 1 kilo pots. Prices range from 4€ for 250g to 6€50 for 500g of the Special honey to 4€ for 500g and 7€ for 1kg of classic honey. They've won medals !
Estelle at Miel d'Elle also produces Pollen. A fact that I never knew , was that bees collect two types of pollen on their bodies when sucking up the nectar . There is the fertile pollen which collects on the sides of their bodies and which then brushes off onto other flowers, so pollinating them, but they also collect pollen on their hind legs. This is sterile pollen. Each hive has a little 'brush' around the entrance to the hive which brushes off some (but not all) of this pollen. Every 3 days Estelle collects it and dries it. It's incredibly high in protein and antioxidants but low in fat. You can add it to cakes and bread or sprinkle it on your cereal in the morning.
Taking a little tour of Miel d'elles production area is a great local experience and you'll be supporting local business by buying a jar of delicious honey, as well as having a lovely souvenir of your stay at La Grange du Moulin and Les Vallaies child friendly gites.
Miel d'elle web site can be found at mieldelle.fr
