Extra Virgin Alliance Plans Summer Olive Oil Tasting Seminar

The Extra Virgin Alliance (EVA) will sponsor an Olive Oil Tasting Seminar for buyers and culinary professionals two days before the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York.

The intensive course is tailored to meet the needs of retail executives, category managers, buyers, culinary professionals and store employees, and will take place June 27 and 28 in advance of the Specialty Food Association’s Summer Fancy Food Show. 

The class is a practical, hands-on introduction to the world of olive oil, including fundamentals of olive oil tasting; recognizing defects and appreciating positive attributes; understanding olive oil testing; deciphering global quality and authenticity standards; using olive oil in the kitchen and at the table; effective olive oil marketing, and more. 

A networking lunch will be provided each day, including an olive oil and food pairing meal. Attendees will taste and evaluate more than three dozen olive oils during the course, allowing them to gain a solid understanding of the issues that surround olive oil quality. 

A dozen experts working in the olive oil and food industries will make presentations and participate in panel discussions and Q&A sessions providing practical, actionable information for everyone who makes decisions about purchasing, handling and marketing olive oil. EVA is offering reduced pricing to companies that wish to send multiple representatives to the seminar. 

Alexandra Kicenik Devarenne of Extra Virgin Alliance and Leandro Ravetti of Modern Olives Australia are the lead instructors addressing sensory analysis of olive oil, olive oil processing and basic chemistry, quality assurance, and more. Legendary olive oil merchant and Zingerman’s founding partner Ari Weinzweig will give the keynote address on the history of marketing extra-virgin olive oil in the United States. Other speakers include Richard Cantrill of American Oil Chemists’ Society on selecting the right laboratory; Mary Flynn of Brown University on olive oil, health and nutrition; Paul Miller, president of Australian Olive Association and co-founder of EVA, on global standards and regulation; and Liz Tagami of Tagami International on marketing. 

The agenda includes panel discussions on assuring quality in the supply chain and marketing quality olive oil that bring in other top industry names, including Rosa Vañó of Castillo de Canena, Aris Kefalogiannis of Gaea Products and David Neuman of Lucini Italia. 

This course follows the olive oil tasting course sponsored by Lucini Italia before the Winter Fancy Food Show 2014 in San Francisco.