Writing my post on the Vea estates in Catalonia last week brought back memories of some of great dishes the I have enjoyed when visiting that area. Here are just a few of them. Escalavida …and beyond …
Olive oil
Memories: The Vea family and The Oil Merchant
I first met Charles Carey – The Oil Merchant – when I was still earning my living mainly as a wine writer and was only just starting to take an interest in olive oil. He organised a tasting for the Circle of Wine Writers which I attended and we kept in touch. He became a…
Website of the month: https://www.thegiftofoil.co.uk/
The Gift of Oil website is the brainchild of Phil Bianchi who spent the early years of his working life working for blue chip food companies, ending up in Athens working for a large olive oil company. There he was inspired by the quality of the Greek olive oils and vinegars which he felt were…
Memories: Soler Romero and the Gay Farmer
Great to see two long standing contacts now linked together in a thriving business partnership: I first came across Soler Romero organic extra virgin olive oil fourteen year ago. I was on a general visit to the Jaen region of Spain and Cortijo El Tobazo was part of the itinerary. I was struck by the…
Olives and more
Just returned from a visit to a great little shop in Forest Hill, south east London. Olives and More is crammed full of absolutely first class Spanish produce. As its name implies, this shop is dedicated to the olive, with the emphasis on extra virgin olive oil. It is the brainchild of Mar … who…
One Day Olive Oil Courses
Thanks to popular request I am continuing my one day olive oil tasting and appreciation courses in London and Brighton in 2020. The next courses in London will be held on Tuesday 18th February and Friday 27th March. Brighton dates are open to negotiation anytime between now and late April. I keep the classes fairly…
Extra virgin olive oil enhances game recipes
This month I have been experimenting with cooking various kind of game with extra virgin olive oil and I have been very pleased with the results. The olive oil helps to lubricate what can often be quite dry meat and gives an excellent flavour to the dish. Using olive oil in this way also contributes …
Website of the Month: March
Artisan olive oil company: I am often asked “How much should I pay for a good extra virgin olive oil?” This is quite a difficult question to answer. The quick response is “as much as you can afford”, but there are oils which are very expensive which are arguably not worth the money that is…
Off the Shelf: March
Here is another post in my series looking at extra virgin olive oils taken at random from the marketplace. I am very lucky to have samples of evoo sent to me from time to time direct from the producers and of course these oils are likely to be the very best they produce. So I…
Great Olive Oil Stories
There are so many great stories about the amazing people in the olive oil world that I have decided to highlight some of them from time to time. Mother’s Garden: The first in the series concentrates on Martin and Maggie who have developed and marketed the excellent Mother’s Garden brand of extra virgin olive oil…