Beekeeper Christine wins acclaim as Armagh’s first ‘Global Honey Star’
An artisan enterprise in Armagh has been named a ‘Global Honey Star’ in an
international festival in London.
Marshall Beekeeping, a small business owned and run by Christine Marshall,
30, in Markethill, won a gold medal and the Honey Star designation in the
International Honey Awards, a prestigious competition which drew entrants from
across the globe.
Christine, who started the business in 2019 on the family dairy farm, was
understandably delighted to have won international acclaim for her honey at the
event. “It’s marvellous recognition and endorsement of the quality and taste of
my honey,” she says.
“What the competition does is to inform honey-growers, honey producers,
beekeepers, processors, and retailers, who distribute their standardized
products legally, to preserve and ameliorate the quality of their branded
products by promoting the highest quality of honey products,” she adds.
A panel of expert judges sampled hundreds of different honeys from producers
in the Alps and countries such as Turkey, Cambodia, Greece, Britain and New
Zealand.
Christine bought her first two hives in June of 2019 and has continued to grow
hive numbers with the goal of growing sustainably over the coming years. Her
aim is to become Northern Ireland’s largest honey provider, making local honey
and beeswax products available to all. She also has hives at Tandragee and
Newtownhamilton in her developing network of over 50.
She also produces flavoured and hot honeys, the latter featuring chilli.
In 2022, she started selling beeswax candles, honey-infused chocolates, honey
tablet and fudge to a network of local shops, food markets and other producers
such as Dolci Delizie chocolates in Banbridge and Granny Shaw’s Fudge in
Ballymena.
She is keen to collaborate with other artisan producers. Christine’s honey, for
instance, is used in Symphonia Gin liqueur in Pomeroy.
It’s no secret that food here is second to none, with some of the best local
produce, including honey, a nutrient-packed superfood with far-reaching
benefits, particularly for those battling seasonal allergies.
