A specialist in natural beekeeping, Malfroy chatted through the process of building Warré hives in volume 10.

First pioneered by priest-turned-beekeeper Abbé Émile Warré in the early 20th century, the non-invasive hive design has been modified by Malfroy to use wood, other materials and dimensions that suit Australian conditions. 

If Malfroy's Gold honey is anything to go by, this approach works just as well for the beekeeper as it does for the bees. The sometimes polyfloral, sometimes pure wild honey and honeycomb comes straight from the Blue Mountains and New South Wales Central Tablelands to restaurants around Sydney (and homes further afield thanks to this online order form).

As we found out, learning about bees is a real wormhole; the more you discover the more there is to know. Malfroy's been at it for years so picking his brain at one of these two-day natural beekeeping courses is a great place to start; the next one's on April 5. 

Warré hives, built by Blue Mountains woodworker Bernhard Koch, are also available to those who complete the course.