SALINAS, CA. — Fourteen-year-old Carmel-based honey entrepreneur and bee activist Jake Reisdorf will hold a free cooking demonstration at Natividad Medical Center’s Certified Farmers’ Market on Wednesday, June 21.

The Carmel Middle School eighth-grader is not only the founder, owner and chief beekeeper of the Carmel Honey Company, but he is an active and passionate advocate for the preservation of bees and endangered bee colonies.

Reisdorf keeps his knowledge of apiology (the scientific study of bees) current by continuing to manage his own honey bee hives, giving talks and demos to schools, restaurants and nonprofit groups and attending industry conferences throughout the country.

Reisdorf also founded the “Jake Gives Back” program to share his honey bee knowledge with kids and adults of all ages and by making a financial donation to honey bee research and education organizations.

Recipe From Jake Reisdorf:

Jake’s HAT Trick Appetizer
(Honey, Avocado, Turkey)

– 2 Tbs. Carmel Honey Company Sage Honey
– 1 Tsp. Minced Garlic
– 1 Tbs. Chopped Cilantro (Plus some for garnish)
– 1 Tsp. Mayonnaise
– Squirt of Juice from 1 Lemon
– 1 Medium Avocado
– 1 Cucumber
– Fresh Turkey Sandwich Meat
– Swiss Cheese
– Cracker of Choice (Round works best)

In a bowl, combine honey, garlic, cilantro, mayo and lemon juice. Add avocado (pitted and peeled) and mix to make a creamy paste. Cut cucumber, turkey and cheese in round thin slices, so they are about the same size as your crackers. Now starting with a cracker, layer cucumber, turkey and cheese in any order you like. Top off with dollop of the honey-avocado mixture and garnish with cilantro. Enjoy!

Natividad Medical Center offers its Certified Farmers’ Market every Wednesday from 11:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at 1441 Constitution Blvd., outside of building 200-Out Patient Services. It’s part of Natividad’s ongoing commitment to promote wellness and healthy eating among Natividad’s staff, patients and their families.

At Natividad’s Certified Farmers’ Market run by Everyone’s Harvest, shoppers will find fresh quality fruits and vegetables (many certified organic), beautiful flowers, live plants, and unique gifts from small-scale family farmers and local independent businesses. By shopping at the farmers’ market you are supporting local California growers and entrepreneurs in the Salinas community.

The farmers’ market will feature regular cooking demos and tastings in which local chefs, Everyone’s Harvest team members and hospital staff members will demonstrate cooking tips and techniques. Attendees of these demos can enjoy a sample of the featured recipe and take home a recipe card. In addition, the first 15 participants will receive $10 in produce vouchers!

The cooking demonstration dates and chefs will also be posted at Everyone’s Harvest’s webpage at everyonesharvest.org.

In addition to Reisdorf’s demo, here’s a list of upcoming demos:

• May 24th — Educational demo. Dr. Kent will have a visual demonstration on suggestions for eating more fruits and vegetables and less sugar for better health.
• June 21st — Demonstration by Carmel Honey Company founder and owner Jake Reisdorf, who will discuss several ways to use honey as part of healthful eating
• July 26th — Tasting. Everyone’s Harvest’s intern, Mason, will make a healthy snack to sample, plus a free recipe card: “Blackberry Energy Bites.”
• Aug. 2nd — Chef Demonstration with Chef Sherrie Ransom.
• Aug. 9th — Tasting. A staff member will make a healthy snack to sample, plus a free recipe card.
• Sept. 20th — Chef Demonstration with Chef Rondi Robison.
• Oct. 11th — Tasting. Everyone’s Harvest’s intern, Mason, will make a healthy snack to sample, plus a free recipe card: “Rainbow Rolls.”
• Oct. 25th — Tasting. Everyone’s Harvest’s intern, Mason, will make a healthy snack to sample, plus a free recipe card: “Nectarine/Black Bean Salad.”

For more information on Natividad Medical Center Certified Farmer’s’ Market contact:
Everyone’s Harvest
Contact: Reid Norris, Executive Director
Tel: (831) 384-6961
Fax: (831) 883-3310
www.everyonesharvest.org

For information on Natividad Medical Center contact Marci Bracco (831) 747-7455.

Background on Natividad Medical Center (NMC)
Owned and operated by Monterey County, NMC is a 172-bed, acute-care hospital providing health care services to county residents for more than 132 years. Based in Salinas, California, NMC offers inpatient, outpatient, emergency, diagnostic and specialty medical care.

NMC provides more than 34,000 patient days of care each year and has more than 52,000 emergency department visits per year. NMC is a Level II Trauma Center providing the immediate availability of specialized personnel, equipment and services to treat the most severe and critical injuries.

NMC’s Trauma Center is a vital community service locally that saves lives and eliminates the need to fly critically injured patients to a distant trauma center. NMC is ranked No. 1 in newborn deliveries in Monterey County and is the only teaching hospital on the Central Coast through its affiliation with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

With a medical staff of more than 300 physicians, NMC’s mission is to continually monitor and improve the health of the people, including the vulnerable, in Monterey County through coordinated, affordable high-quality health care. For more information, please call 831-755-4111 or visit www.natividad.com.

About Jake and Carmel Honey Company:
Jake Reisdorf is the chief beekeeper and owner with his family of Carmel Honey Company, which he started as part of a school project where his teacher assigned professions to each student and directed them to research the profession and build a presentation on it.

While researching his assigned profession of website designer, Jake, 10 years old at the time, decided to take it one step further and actually create a real website. At that time, Jake had taken one beekeeping class with his Dad and thought it would be cool to design a website about honey bees.

Not only did Jake get an “A” on the project, it inspired him and spurred him to start Carmel Honey Company. That was three years ago.

His passion for honey bees grew as he learned about Colony Collapse Disorder and real honey. Expanding his research and education drove Jake to learn more about honey and bees and ultimately decide it was critical to give back.

The “Jake Gives Back” program includes sharing honey bee knowledge with kids and adults of all ages. Whether he is in a classroom speaking to first-grade students, or at a corporate event talking with business owners and seasoned professionals, his passion and appreciation of how honey bees impact our world is infectious. He also “gives back” by making a financial donation to honey bee research and education organizations.

Jake currently attends 8th grade at Carmel Middle School and keeps his knowledge of apiology (the scientific study of bees) current by continuing to manage his own honey bee hives and attending industry conferences throughout the country.

Carmel Honey Company
(831) 687-8511
www.CarmelHoneyCompany.com
www.Facebook.com/CarmelHoneyCompany
www.Instagram.com/CarmelHoneyCompany
www.Twitter.com/CarmelHoneyCo