Two Menorcan beekeepers on the verge of winning the 2025 Abella d’Or, on the occasion of International Bee Day

Since 2018, the Parliament of the Balearic Islands approved an institutional declaration to conserve pollinating insects; a call to institutions, professionals and consumers to protect and safeguard the species. In line with the declaration, the celebration of International Bee Day (May 20) has already become a Menorcan tradition, which encourages beekeepers in their commendable work.

In this context, beekeepers Xec Gornès Moll (Mel d’Algaiarens) and Miquel Anglada Marquès (Mel i Untis), representing Menorca European Region of Gastronomy 2022, have been recognized and praised within the context of the Golden Bee Award 2025 —the Oscars of Beekeeping—, an award promoted by Slovenia European Region of Gastronomy 2021, in order to distinguish extraordinary initiatives for the conservation of pollinators.

Xec Gornès Moll (Mel d’Algaiarens)

Gornès, a beekeeper from the Son Felip estate, presented to the jury his regenerative production project, in which beekeeping is integrated into a horizontal agricultural model based on crop diversification and ecological soil management. The approach is distinguished by the use of traditional smokeless techniques, the monitoring of lunar cycles and the genetic selection of Apis mellifera iberiensis, with the aim of restoring local populations resistant to the varroa parasite. In collaboration with the GOB, the proposal also includes educational and civic actions: for example, more than two hundred and fifty schoolchildren visit the apiary each year to learn about the importance of pollinators in the balance of ecosystems.

Miquel Anglada Marquès (Mel i Untis)

Anglada, in turn, develops a model of ethical and biodynamic beekeeping, without chemical intervention, based on the observation of nature and respect for the biological rhythms of bees. Through the "Sponsor a Beehive" project, it brings the reality of beekeeping closer to citizens, promoting environmental awareness and collective commitment to the conservation of pollinators. Sponsors receive periodic information and products from the apiary, in addition to being able to visit the hives. Thus, a platform for direct action and dissemination is formed, connecting local production, environmental education and quality gastronomy.

The organizing committee of the Golden Bee Award 2025 has congratulated both candidacies as exemplary works, in favor of an ecological beekeeping rooted in the territory. Both Xec and Miquel defend patterns that incorporate natural and cultural heritage, to protect and spread biodiversity, also within the food and gastronomic field.

Thus, Menorca, through Menorca European Region of Gastronomy 2022, continues to promote beekeeping, in favor of food sovereignty and regenerative practices.