The hum of honey bees fills the air and the heady scent of fresh honeycomb intoxicates the senses. A day in the office doesn’t get more idyllic than this. It’s a daily experience for beekeeper and The Sheffield Honey Company founder Jez Daughtry.
This luxury brand has become ubiquitous in and around Yorkshire since he launched it back in June 2010. But the bee farming business wasn’t always Jez’s calling. He found himself drawn to the buzz of honey production after being made redundant from a successful IT career in 2009, and it was his childhood interest in beekeeping that led him to consider it as a full-time occupation. While IT might have seemed demanding, the 12-hour days, care of over 300 hives and the physical labour that The Sheffield Honey Company demands means Jez is working the hardest he has in his life.
But it’s all worth it for the finished product. Jez now runs a successful artisan business producing blossom, soft set, heather and special edition honeys from hives located all over the city – look skywards and they can even be seen on the roof of Weston Park Museum. His empire also extends into the Peak District where they offer unique honey made from those hives in the national park.
For Jez, it’s about making customers aware of honey and its provenance – the hard work put into it by him and his bees – is the priority:
“I want people to see the genuine quality of our products and understand the difference between this and the honey you can buy in the supermarkets,” he says. “I love the idea of everyone in Sheffield knowing where our honey comes from and having a jar in their cupboard.”
And with Jez’s busy bees making honey from flower nectar in our own back gardens, real local produce doesn’t get much closer to home than this. Their core products of pure Blossom, Soft Set, Borage and the finest Heather honey are all available in both 113g and 340g hexagon jars.
To order simply drop Jez an email for pricing details. In addition to their retail jars they supply bulk honey pails to restaurants, bakeries and the brewing industry as well creating fabulous honey gifts, corporate treats and unique wedding favours.
Online honey and gift purchases will shortly be available via their new website! You’ll also find their honey in delis, cafes, farm shops and independent shops across Sheffield and select stockists in the Peak District, Leeds and London. Jez attends regular farmers’ markets around Sheffield and the Peak District.
