“I just don’t get it,” the grill cook, a burly man named Marco, grumbled as he wiped down the stainless steel counter. The clatter of pots and pans was finally gone for the night, and he leaned back against the counter, a tired sigh escaping his lips. “I get it from the young guys, the ones who are all about ‘slow food’ and ‘organic.’ But the head chef? He’s gone on a whole crusade.”
“What did Chef say now?” asked the salad chef, Elena, her eyebrows raised in amusement. She had been with the restaurant for years and was used to the head chef’s periodic grand pronouncements.
“He declared that we’re now all about ‘real, authentic ingredients,’” Marco scoffed, a laugh rumbling in his chest. “And he’s starting with honey. ‘No more of that adulterated stuff,’ he says. ‘We’re going to use only additive-free honey from now on.’”
Elena winced. “That’s a dessert department nightmare, isn’t it?”
“Tell me about it,” Marco said, shaking his head. “They’re having a meltdown, especially with their operations and profitability.”
“Why? I didn’t think it would be such a big deal,” Elena said, genuinely curious.
“Well, for starters, pure honey isn’t like the syrup they’re used to,” Marco explained. “It doesn’t dissolve easily in water. So, mixing things like a simple vinaigrette or a dessert sauce takes way longer. The dessert team is spending extra time just trying to get the right consistency.”
“I never thought about that,” Elena mused.
“Plus, it’s not odorless,” Marco continued. “Real honey has a strong floral aroma, a powerful flavor that can be a shock if you’re not expecting it. We’ve had customers complain already, asking if something was wrong with the dish. They’re so used to that generic, bland sweetness, they don’t even recognize the real thing.”
Marco leaned forward, his voice dropping to a more serious tone. “And then there’s the profitability issue. First, pure honey is expensive, far more than the cheap stuff we were buying. But even worse, there’s no guarantee of a stable supply. Apparently, there’s a huge problem with fake honey flooding the market. I heard from a supplier that 80% of the honey they’ve tested in Europe was adulterated.”
“Eighty percent? That’s insane!” Elena exclaimed.
“Yeah,” Marco sighed. “The European Professional Beekeepers Association is calling it the ‘Clean up the honey market’ action. And our head chef, bless his heart, wants to be part of the solution. But what if we run out? The dessert team is terrified they might have to change the menu on the fly or remove honey-based items altogether. It’s a huge risk.”
Marco ran a hand through his hair, a grim look on his face. “I’m all for the environment and supporting beekeepers, but from a purely practical standpoint, it’s a mess. If you really want sustainability—as in, a consistent product we can always count on—then a high-quality artificial honey is actually a lot more convenient and dependable in many ways. But don’t tell the head chef I said that.”
All names of people and organizations appearing in this story are pseudonyms
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