Marina is changing the way people think about honey, this designer turned beekeeper is best known as the visionary behind the beloved brand Red Bee Honey. One sunny day in April, Marina was invited to visit a neighbor’s apiary where her first taste of fresh honey from the beehive would change the course of her life. She quit her job, built a beehive and got her first colony of Italian honeybees to become a full – time beekeeper. It was on a trip to Tuscany to study wine tasting that Marina stumbled upon a honey festival in Montalcino (coincidentally called La Citta del Miele) where she learned about their honey sensory education courses. She returned to Italy three more times to complete her formal training and become the first US citizen to be accepted as a member of the Italian National Register of Experts in the Sensory Analysis of Honey. In 2013, with the guidance of the Italian Register she founded the American Honey Tasting Society to bring their honey educational program to the US.

​​

Marina's best-selling book Honeybee Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper was just optioned for TV and film. It chronicles her entrepreneurial journey into beekeeping, opening her eyes to the wonders of the natural world of honeybees.. Her second book, The Honey Connoisseur Selecting, Tasting, and Pairing Honey co-authored with Kim Flottum (editor of Bee Culture Magazine) is the definitive guide to honey. Her third book, Honey for Dummies was coauthored with her mentor Howland Blackiston, author of the best selling book Beekeeping for Dummies. Marina is writing her 4th book due in 2024. A graduate of The School of Visual Arts in NYC.

​

Marchese has appeared on numerous TV shows - Dr. Oz, The Chew, ViceTV - The Untitled Action Bronson Show, On the Road with Edible Nutmeg. Marina recently appeared with Emmy award winner Richard Wiese in Weekends with Yankee on PBS. James Beard award winning author Rowan Jacobsen dubbed Marina the “Red Queen” owing to her obsession with varietal honey in his book, American Terroir.