Papa John’s Created a Tiny Pizza for Bees
Fast food has gone to the bees in Europe. Back in May, McDonald’s in Sweden showed its support for the tiny pollinators by creating the “McHive” — an active beehive in the shape of a MickeyD’s billed as “the world’s smallest McDonald’s.” Now, Papa John’s has released a “Beezza” — billed as the world’s first pizza designed exclusively for bees.
To help promote its new honey-drizzled “The Bee Sting” pizza — as well as to raise awareness of declining of bee populations — Papa John’s created a bee-sized companion pie. The pizza chain explains, “The ‘Beezza’, is less than one inch in diameter, made with real Papa John’s dough, based with passata and topped with wild flowers including: Forget Me Nots, Rose Geraniums, and sprinkled with a mix of local pollen, Rosemary, and Thyme. According to experts, all of these are favorites with bees, thanks to the fragrances, colors and easy-to-access nectar.”
“We did a lot of research into which ingredients should go on the pizza and along with the knowledge and expertise from the team at the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, we seemed to have got the recipe spot on — the bees were loving it!” said Thom Whitchurch, who runs a “tiny cookery school” and helped make the special pie. “Creating tiny food is a passion of mine, so I was excited to team up with Papa John’s to create the world’s first pizza for bees.”
Sadly, these little pizzas aren’t available to purchase, but in support of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Papa John’s is giving out packs of native wildflower seeds on social media so pizza fans can grow the kinds of plants bees love. Additionally, U.K. customers will have the option to donate the change from their orders to the trust until September 1.
“We’re delighted that Papa John’s is supporting our work to protect and feed the nation’s bumblebees,” said Darryl Cox, senior science and policy officer of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. “It may seem hard to believe, but without bumblebees, there would be no pizza. Tomato plants hold their pollen in extremely tight structures and literally need a bumblebee to buzz the pollen out to fertilize the flowers. This free-bee service means we can produce enough tomatoes to satisfy the global demand for pizza and other tomato-based products.”
