The Tablemates

I moved to Italy in my 20s, and it was the first time I experienced good Olive Oil. As a kid growing up in rural Australia, we rarely even had Olive Oil (my mother used margarine on everything). But in Italy, my taste buds were introduced to something wild, and my mind was blown. The Olive Oil from the farms near me were sooooo green, and sooooo tangy, even just with a plain piece of bread it would be something…. thrilling.

Since then, I’ve been searching for the best Olive Oil. With a peppery bright taste, that gives you a kick in the throat. The sort of oil that can be used to drizzle over a piece of toast, or a boiled egg, or pasta. The kind that probably needs nothing more than some fresh pepper (and a glass of wine).

It took us a little while, but we finally found one from a farm that I love. This multi-generational family run farm is right here in Ojai, California, and they use the best permaculture farming practices without herbicides or pesticides. During harvest, the organic olives are picked by hand and cold-pressed immediately to ensure freshness and rich antioxidant and polyphenol content (380 mg/kg). They created a unique blend just for us, including olives from trees that have grown on their land for over 150 years. The result is this vibrant, green, and peppery oil — balanced by softer fruit notes. Our bottles never sit on the shelves for long, and I love that we always have the freshest harvest of oil every year.

x Richard