Camden News: Toby Mason | North London BeeKeepers’ Association | Inner Circle | Regent’s Park

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Camden News - by CHARLOTTE CHAMBERS
Published: 4 December 2008

Toby Mason shows off his exclusive honey, which is produced in the Inner Circle of Regent’s Park

Sweet taste of success: Venture capitalist swaps depression for a new cash crop

FIVE years ago Toby Mason was working as a venture capitalist – a job he hated so much that it drove him to depression and addiction.
Following a stint in rehab, he took up a course in cooking and a course in bee-keeping with the North London BeeKeepers’ Association, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Now the 37-year-old spends his time looking after his 15-month-old son at his Bloomsbury home and tending to his 30 hives in the Inner Circle of Regent’s Park – the “perfect escape” from his previously hectic lifestyle.
He describes his Pure Food Regent’s Park Honey – which comes in at £7.95 a pot and is the only honey produced in a central London park – as the most expensive and exclusive in the country.
Pots of the Royal Park honey can be found in several shops including Melrose & Morgan deli in Primrose Hill and high end hotels.
“I couldn’t have gone back to my old job so I started as a hobbyist beekeeper and was very lucky to get the site here” he said.
“It couldn’t be further from my old job – that was all about money and this is all about honey.”
So popular is his honey – and so limited are his hives and bees – that demand always outstrips supply.

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