From Italy to US: the super premium olive oil road map

The international conference “Beyond Extra Virgin” that was held in California the 21-23rd June, 2009, may represent an historical breakthrough in the market of olive oil in the United States.
The Culinary Institute of America (C.I.A.) at Greystone (Napa Valley), one of the most influential culinary schools in the world, has decided to adopt the Super-Premium Olive Oils as one of the pillars of its mission of culinary culture and research, between tradition and innovation, health and taste.
Some personal experience may have contributed in this decision. In fact, Greg Drescher, the Strategic Planning Manager of the C.I.A., was one of the researchers of the Department of Epidemiology of the Harvard School of Public Health that coauthored the most famous paper entitled “Mediterranean Diet Pyramid: a Cultural Model for Healthy Eating” published in 1995, in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The olive oil was, in fact, one of the most significant components of the Mediterranean Diet. We can therefore speculate that the decision of the C.I.A. to choose the Super-Premium Olive Oil as a key product in its approach to the quality of food and meals is motivated, at the same time, by the reference to firm scientific foundations and by consideration of a strategic value in terms of culture and business.
As a consequence of this strategic decision, now more than ever the use and consumption of excellent olive oils have an opportunity for commercial growth and success in the US.
In the complex and often confused commercial and legislative situation of olive oil, what makes the C.I.A. decision trustworthy is the partnership it has established with association TRE-E, a no-profit organization which was founded in 2004 as a practical result of studies and discussions carried out at the Academy of Georgofili in Florence, on the initiative of Claudio Peri, Professor Emeritus in Food Science at the University of Milan. In the last three years the model of excellence of olive oil proposed by association TRE-E has gained international recognition and has started practical application by a number of olive oil producers from several Italian regions. The TRE-E model of excellence has been concisely presented by Claudio Peri at the Californian conference with the title “Designing Super-Premium Olive oil: Critical Control Points of Quality, from Cultivation through distribution”

The TRE-E model of olive oil excellence attracted the C.I.A.’s attention when the first edition of the conference “Beyond Extra Virgin” was held at the University of California Davis in 2007 and then when the second edition was held in Florence in 2008. The idea of excellence of olive oil finally originated an initiative that was subscribed by The University of California, Davis, the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, the Academy of Georgofili at Florence and the Association TRE-E. The following title was given to the initiative:
“Beyond Extra Virgin”
Olive Oil excellence & World Heritage Project
Fostering Innovation in Quality and Flavor Discovery at the intersection of Agriculture,
Science & Technology, and the Culinary Art

According to the TRE-E procedure, the selection and guarantee of excellence is based on principles and methods acceptable by all producers, regardless of the country or the cultivars or the company’s dimension or the techniques applied. All skilled and dedicated producers of olive oil of the world may be granted the Super-Premium TRE-E selection seal of excellence .
As professor Erminio Monteleone of the University of Florence explained in his speech at the conference, the evaluation of sensory excellence of Super-Premium Olive Oil will be based not only on the sensory attributes of the olive oils evaluated according to the official sensory tests, but also on the sensory function they perform in different food media and culinary preparations.

However, neither the scientific experience of Greg Drescher, nor the definition of excellence by Claudio Peri, nor the new approach of sensory evaluation by Erminio Monteleone could determine the C.I.A.’s decision about Super-Premium Olive Oil, without the decisive proposal by Paolo Pasquali which may turn olive oil from cost into profit for restaurant managers.
The Oleoteca di Villa Campestri and the system that Paolo Pasquali has illustrated at the conference with the trademark “oliveTolive” may become the most interesting practical proposal for the commercialization, use and presentation of great olive oils in great restaurants. The oliveTolive experiments that Paolo Pasquali has carried out for years in his olive oil resort at Villa Campestri has convinced the C.I.A. that Super-Premium Olive Oil can convey to the culinary world not only a great heritage of culture and values, but also a great business opportunity.

The most convincing proof that we may be on the eve of a rapidly growing search for excellence in olive oil is represented by the new Oleoteca that the C.I.A. will put into operation next October for the educational and tasting programs of its 250 thousand yearly visitors and the hundreds of chefs participating in its courses and meetings.

Besides the dominant theme of Super-Premium Olive Oil, the conference has been highly innovative in many aspects.
An entire session chaired by Alexandra Devarenne has been devoted to the terminology problem and the difficult task of translating the sensory terminology from one language to another.
For the first time since congresses and meetings are devoted to the olive oil, the culinary aspect has played a role not as a complement or an entertaining break among the technical and scientific sessions, but a critical and central role in defining excellence in terms of communication, consumers’ perception and culinary creativity. A comprehensive overview of these themes has been presented by the journalist and author Nancy Harmon Jenkins, while an attractive presentation and practical demonstration of culinary themes of the Greek tradition has been presented by journalist and author Diane Kochilas. Great chefs like Bill Briwa and Paul Bortolotta have given the audience wonderful insights in the possibilities of olive oils in stimulating chefs’ creativity.
A famous Greek professor of Nutrition, also a member of the Harvard team of researchers on the Mediterranean Diet, Antonia Trichopoulou of the University of Athens, has presented the role and uses of olive oil in healthy diets. Maria Isabel Covas from IMIM of Barcelona has up-dated the scientific information about the healthy aspects of olive oil. Ramon Aparicio of the Instituto de la Grasa in Sevilla has presented a most attractive overview on the minor compounds of olive oil and their role in the healthy and sensory properties. Jean Xavier Guinard has presented a first set of systematic sensory and preference data of Californian consumers. Alessandro Leone and Antonia Tamborrino of the University of Bari have presented a state of art and the possible innovations in milling technologies.
In summary, it has been a great conference that Dan Flynn, the director of the Olive Center of the University of California, has managed with great ability, participation and a truly innovative approach. This third edition of Beyond Extra Virgin was announced as the most important event concerning olive oil ever organized by an American University. And so it has been. The message about Super-Premium Olive Oil that comes from the Culinary Institute of America, the Oleoteca di Villa Campestri and the association TRE-E has the potential of revolutionizing the culture and the market of excellent olive oils.

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