We saw this demonstration of beekeeping at the Sydney Royal Easter show. The beekeeper used some smoke to calm the bees before opening the hive then explained how it works.The work of a queen bee is much harder than I thought!Nearby there are honey tastings and many varieties of honey- a great way to encourage people to try.

An ambitious plan to transform the way ingredients are created by using fermentation has raised $10.5 million in seed funding, a new record for a female-founded startup.Cauldron, based in regional NSW, will use the funds to expand its existing pilot plant in Orange, 260km west of Sydney, as well as building a national production network and team.While the notion of fermentation is nothing new Founder Michele Stansfield says they are at the cutting edge of “precision fermentation” – industrial-scale fermentation. Precision fermentation is designed to develop new ingredients such as proteins, fats and fibres, which can then be used to create animal-free “milk”, plant-based “meats” and biodegradable plastic alternatives.  

Few plants are hardy enough to survive the red desert plains of central Australia, where the sands can reach 50 degrees and rain e