What’s the latest buzz at EPCOT? Well, it would be the opening of the 2020 International Flower & Garden Festival, of course! We’ve made our way to the Honey Bee-stro booth, hosted by National Honey Board™ . With all of the menu items featuring nectar and honey (and maybe a Spike the Bee Sipper), let’s dig into these sweet dishes.

The Honey Bee-stro at the 2020 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

Menu for The Honey Bee-stro at the 2020 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

Food:

• Roasted Cauliflower with Buckwheat Honey Carrot Purée, Wild Rice Pilaf, Asparagus, Honey Blistered Grapes, Sunflower Brittle and Coriander Flowers (GF) – $4.50
• Honey Tandoori Chicken Flatbread with White Cheddar Cheese, Charred Vegetables, Clover Honey Sour Cream and Micro Citrus Greens – $5.75
• Local Wildflower Honey-Mascarpone Cheesecake with Orange Blossom Honey Ice Cream garnished with Fennel Pollen Meringue Kisses – $5.00

Beverages:

*Price per bottle is an average price of the spirit at your local liquor store.

• Honey-Peach Freeze in a Souvenir Spike the Bee Sipper Cup (Non-alcoholic) – $15.00
•  B. Nektar New Wave Lemonade Mead, Ferndale MI (6.4% ABV) – $5.00
• Florida Orange Groves Winery Orange Blossom Honey Wine, St. Petersburg, FL ($20/bottle) – $6.00
• Honey-Peach Freeze with Blueberry Vodka – $12.00

The Honey-Peach Freeze returns in 2020, but this year it comes with a bit of character, as it’s served in a souvenir Spike the Bee sipper cup.

Photos of Menu Items from The Honey Bee-stro at the 2020 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

Roasted Cauliflower with Buckwheat Honey Carrot Purée, Wild Rice Pilaf, Asparagus, Honey Blistered Grapes, Sunflower Brittle and Coriander Flowers – $4.50

A few cauliflower adorned this rather large mountain of pilaf. Mixed in the rice we found asparagus with a healthy portion of carrot puree underneath. This dish felt like an odd mix of items jumbled together for a honey-inspired booth as the traditional sweet flavor of honey wasn’t prominent. That being said, it is a solid portion and most of the components work very well for a healthy alternative (and vegetarian!) option.

Honey Tandoori Chicken Flatbread with White Cheddar Cheese, Charred Vegetables, Clover Honey Sour Cream and Micro Citrus Greens – $5.75

A rather large portion for the price, it’s almost half a quick service pizza. Instead of the typical flatbread, this item used naan to bring out the flavors of the tandoori chicken. The chicken was excellently cooked and there was plenty of it. We wanted a bit more cheese and could have done without the watercress, but every ingredient complimented each other to deliver a unique offering for this new booth

Local Wildflower Honey-Mascarpone Cheesecake with Orange Blossom Honey Ice Cream garnished with Fennel Pollen Meringue Kisses – $5.00

Light, airy, and just the right amount of sweet. The other items at the Honey Bee-stro don’t hold a candle to this unique creation. The only issue is the graininess of the mascarpone, but it’s easily forgiven after a few bites of the subtly sweet honey cheesecake. We recommend picking one up and learning about how cool bees are along the pathway up to the booth.

Honey-Peach Freeze in a Souvenir Spike the Bee Sipper Cup (Non-alcoholic) – $15.00

Now that the booth has opened, the Spike the Bee sipper has flown back to its rightful place at The Honey Bee-stro after making its emergency debut at Pineapple Promenade on Wednesday. And he’s still as cute as ever!

*NEW* B. Nektar New Wave Lemonade Mead, Ferndale MI (6.4% ABV) – $5.00

According to B. Nektar, New Wave Lemonade Mead is brewed with “orange blossom honey, blueberry & lemon.” It’s “light magenta, clear to slightly hazy with a lacey head that dissipates to the rim,” and has an aroma of “distinct blueberry and funky honey notes with hints of citrus.” Tasting notes include “sweet blueberry and creamy honey followed by notes of blueberry ski and tart lemon. Medium body with a soft mouthfeel and balanced acidity. Mildly tannic and slight lingering sweetness on the finish.”

Florida Orange Groves Winery Orange Blossom Honey Wine, St. Petersburg, FL ($20/bottle) – $6.00

From Florida Orange Groves Winery: “Made with Florida’s special Orange Blossom Honey! Honey wine is sometimes called Mead, and ours is the sweetest and best tasting of them all!”

Envisioning a honey wine, we expected a sweet white wine. What we received was a white wine that had a medicinal quality to the taste. One sip per person around our group was more than enough.

Honey-Peach Freeze with Blueberry Vodka – $12.00

Topped with crumbs to give the impression of a peach cobbler, this freeze delivers on multiple fronts. The blueberry vodka mixed well with the honey and peach frozen beverage. All of the flavors combined to create a drink that tasted like a peach cobbler. A truly unique item for this booth and one that’s worth a try as the alcoholic version with the blueberry vodka. We’re unsure how the drink would work without the blueberry.

Location of The Honey Bee-stro at the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

The Honey Bee-stro is located on the western edge of Showcase Plaza, near Refreshment Port. You can find it at number 24 on the map below.

We recommend hitting this booth for food, but at the very least do yourself a favor and grab a Spike the Bee Sipper Cup!