Bee-centric art, food, drink headline campaign during March, April
dLeña by Chef Richard Sandoval will celebrate the Earth and bees with its Viva Abejas campaign starting March 22. The Mount Vernon Triangle Mexican restaurant in DC will put the importance of bees in the spotlight as it elevates the earth’s harvest through food and drink.
A celebration of bees, Earth
Through Viva Abejas, Richard Sandoval Hospitality (RSH) stresses the importance of bees, noting that one in every three bites of food depends on bees for pollination. A multi-pronged approach comprising food, signature activations, retail elements, cultural education, and philanthropy.
As a central piece to this campaign, Pachamama, the Incan goddess of Earth, is recognized for planting, harvesting and fertility.
Lourdes Villagómez will create vibrant custom pieces for dLeña that highlight the heart of the campaign, the Queen Bee. The Mexico City-based illustrator and artist partnered with dLeña to bring to life this bright color palette. She said, “I wanted to share the vibrant color palette I use to represent my culture as well as some new colors like the dark greens that represent the freshness of nature with Pachamama. In my work, I love using symbolism inside the main subject to tell the story behind the piece, so I encourage you to try and find the symbols within my bee images that reference Pachamama.”
The bold color palette is also coming to the plate through a special menu of themed food and drinks. For starters, guests can try the bee pollen rainbow quinoa with avocado, green pea purée, lemongrass, meyer lemon confit, organic garden flowers and EVOO. There is also the farro-coconut risotto with acacia honey, farro-coconut milk, roasted heirloom carrot, mascarpone cheese, roasted veggie jus, and green sprouts. A charred crispy tostada with smashed avocado, bee pollen, cilantro espuma, and EVOO is quite a treat. Meanwhile, the avocado panna cotta with lavender crumble, blood orange sauce, and honeycomb ice cream is a uniquely-defined dish. These preparations, notes RSH, are bee-centric and plant based.
Viva Abejas drinks
The restaurant also launched beautifully-composed drinks for the Viva Abejas campaign that will beckon guests:
- The Queen Bee with bourbon – sherry, thyme-honey syrup, lemon juice, and angostura bitters
- Honey Lavender Margarita – tequila, fresh lime juice, honey lavender simple syrup, violet syrup liqueur, and triple sec
- The Pachamama – mezcal, lavender and citrus infused honey, and lemon juice, and the Bee-Cante with reposado, house-made ginger, red pepper-infused simple syrup, lemon, lime, and yellow chartreuse
- The Bee-Cante – comes with a plantable cocktail hang tag made of wildflowers seeds for guests to take home
- Mok Chi – a mocktail with honey agave syrup, fresh lemon juice, spiced chamomile and ginger, which also comes as an adult beverage with reposado, and Drambuie
- Non-alcoholic Honey Lavender Lemonade with freshly-squeezed lemon juice and lavender-infused honey simple syrup
Help Save the Bees Foundation President Laurie Yarborough said, “The Help Save the Bees Foundation enthusiastically partners with Richard Sandoval Hospitality and its beautiful ‘Viva Abejas’ campaign to raise awareness of the importance of bees in conjunction with Earth Day. We share Chef Sandoval’s passion for bees and the good work they do as a critical link in our food chain.”
There will also be retail items available for sale, including house-made nutrient capsules, filled with good-for-you superfoods and biodegradable tote bags.
Added RSH in a statement, “Richard Sandoval Hospitality will make a substantial donation to the Help Save the Bees Foundation and will host a contest for guests to participate in bee-saving initiatives.”
Check out the Viva Abejas goings-on, which will last through April 22—Earth Day.
dLeña, 476 K Street Northwest, Suite D, Washington, DC 20001
About the publisher.