Make your corporate event oh so sweet with a honey tasting

Tasting menus for corporate events and cocktail hours are moving beyond trends that were hot just a few years (or even months) ago.  Been there, done that with city wineries, breweries and distilleries? 

Sweeten up your cocktail hour or corporate meeting break with a honey tasting.

Ask most New Yorkers about urban bees and they will tell you some kind of "stinging" story about why it's a mistake to ask for mustard when grabbing lunch at a hot dog food truck.  But the idea of tending to a city of bees amid the skyscrapers, traffic, bustle, and the pollution of the modern metropolis is truly incredible.

And people doing the eating love it.  Urban legend has it that New York City beekeeping got its start somewhere in the Kew Gardens neighborhood in Queens.  It has now evolved into a major industry above everyone's heads and rivals the rooftop gardens chefs are creating above their restaurants.

Why is urban honey so good?  The principal difference between honey produced in the city and honey from country bees is that the rural ones typically pollinate only one kind of flower.  For example, you typically see lots of clover honey jars on the supermarket shelf.  Conversely, city bees have a smorgasbord of flowers to choose from and ironically might be exposed to fewer chemicals.

That's a pretty sweet argument for a very unique tasting event idea!

Corporate Event Venues: Rooftops at Museums

Warm weather is here in New York City and rooftop venues are opening everywhere around Manhattan.  Great for corporate events, consider trying a museum rooftop in 2014.

For example, The Metropolitan Museum of Art's rooftop garden cafe and bar offers perhaps the best view of Central Park. It is a gem of the city.

But what makes this place special isn't the food or drink but the vibe, which is a huge hit with international meeting attendees standing together on top of one of the greatest museums in the world watching the sun set over one of the greatest cities in the world.

The rooftop is also the Metropolitan Museum of Art's sculpture garden, with a rotating instillation of sculptures from Rodin to Jeffrey Koons.  It's something you won't experience anywhere else. 

Shackman Associates New York has been running major events for corporate meeting, association convention and destination incentive groups at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for over a decade.  Our inside knowledge of museums can help your meeting hold a spectacular rooftop event, especially if it is on short-notice.