While in the UK we may have gradually become a little more knowledgeable about where in the world produces great olive oils (thanks in part to TV cooks waxing lyrical about their favourite varieties), little has been said about one of the most important factors that goes into making a truly great olive oil – freshness. Olive oil differs to other great mainstays of the Mediterranean diet such as wine, vinegar and cheese, in that it does not age well at all. Once the olives are picked, it is a race against time to get the olives pressed, the oil bottled and the bottles sold if you want the freshest, most complex and delicious product. Although olive oil can last sealed in a nice dark place for up to two years, if you’re serious about your oils, you want it as fresh off the boat as possible, as age increases acidity and impacts greatly on flavour.
As a website that's primarily for and about fantastic chefs, we are always curious about those producers that chefs swear by. So when a chef got in contact about an opportunity to see one of these products being made first-hand, we leapt at the opportunity.
The chef was Kevin Tew, group head chef of Galvin restaurants, who was taking some apprentice chefs on a trip to experience what goes into making fantastic produce, along with Lexington Catering chefs Rob Kirby, Murray Tapiki and John Lilley with another brood of budding chefs. We were whisked away by Belazu, the tireless finders of all that is good and tasty in this world, who wanted to shout about their Catalan producers of olive oil and vinegar, who they have been working with for twenty-three years out of their twenty-five year history.