Olive oil is one of Italy’s excellences, one of its greatest products and exports. It’s subject to not only plenty of regulations but lots of imitations, as well as a lot of competition from other producing nations.
The “High Quality European Olive Oil†campaign, co-funded by the EU and the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, aims to raise awareness on the unique qualities of olives and olive oi, their nutritional benefits, their flavour and the theme of the healthy Mediterranean diet to encourage their use over other traditional fats.
In the UK, the campaign, ran from the first week of November to the first week of December across 40 restaurants,Foodepedia was invited to the gala dinner that concluded the various events held in London’s Osteria dell’Angolo. The event was attended by industry professionals, media and food enthusiasts.
Over a glass of Italian Prosecco, we were introduced to the three olive oils that were showcased in dinner, each used in one of the 3 courses: OLITALIA, OL.MA. and Redoro.
Finally, an interesting proposition by Osteria dell’Angolo chef: an olive oil ice cream with caramelised rosemary shards, served on’crostino dolce’, which was nothing other than a toasted slice of sourdough which, however good quality, did not really provide a good match to the creamy gelato; a slice of brioche would have probably worked better.
All the oils we tried testify how an authentic, excellent extra virgin olive oil can be used in many ways during a meal, and how it can be enjoyed and consumed in its natural, raw state to fully experience its beautiful flavours. It is definitely worth investing in good quality extra virgin olive oil.