Olive Oil Culture at a Mall Near You.

By Dylan Petley
Olive Oil Times Contributor | Reporting from Vancouver

Once upon a time, the average person’s relationship with olive oil was limited to an anniversary dinner at the local trattoria.

But times have changed.  Today, olive oil is getting more ‘press’ (‘scuse the pun) than Lady Gaga.

Fact is, espresso isn’t the only Italian innovation taking the planet by storm anymore, nor is it the only one carving out a sizable cultural niche for itself.  Reasons abound why EVOO has gone from being something to push your free bread around in at Tino’s to being something of a superstar.  Let’s explore…

An Olive a Day…

Europeans have enjoyed the health benefits of olives since Hercules was in diapers but modern medicine articulates the details a tad better than Hippocrates: Olives contain high amounts of monounsaturated fat which helps reduce LDL levels (or as Olives For Dummies calls it, ‘bad cholesterol’).  Extra virgin olive oil in particular contains obscene levels of polyphenols – powerful antioxidants that attack free radicals.  Long story short, extra virgin olive oil helps your body absorb vitamins, reduces the risk of heart attack and breast cancer and slows the effects of aging.  All this might not have meant a lot 100 years ago when cigarettes were prescribed for asthma and gin was the cough syrup of choice.  But today, we’ve emerged from the cheeseburger haze of the 20th century to find our collective heartburn eclipsed by a super-sized dose of accountability.  This is the health-consciousness for which olive oil has become ambassador.

Blond Ambition

A direct result of the trend towards healthier eating has been the movement towards healthy, home-cooked meals.  The popularity of DIY dinners can be measured in the sheer number of cooking shows peppering the TV listings.  Hosted by a seemingly endless assembly line of shaggy, spiky and curly-haired blond guys (it’s a bit weird, isn’t it?) these programs have become the inspiration for amateur chefs and budding foodies the world over.  Whatever your tastes, if you’re using a frying pan, a saucepan or a salad bowl, you know EVOO’s going to make an appearance.

www.heywantsomeoliveoil.com

And finally, a big hats-off to the internet and its dizzying ability to make the planet a smaller and smaller place.  The downside of this brave new world is that routine housecleaning now includes deleting weekly spam from the Irish National Lottery (no one’s that lucky).  The upside, however, is that what once was considered food from afar has now become the cyber-version of your own gourmet market.  A quick Amazon search for extra virgin olive oil produces first-page results from Greece, Spain, Italy, France and the United States of California.

And yet a growing number of olivepreneurs (see what I did there?) are adopting a different approach.  Refining the import foods market model, these modern merchants are gazing beyond traditional gourmet food retailing to a place where specialty franchises are nurturing a growing appreciation for an ancient passion.

Oil & Vinegar is an example of one such company – a venture that is doing its part to shape olive oil culture in both Europe and North America.

Founded in the Netherlands in 1999, Oil & Vinegar was originally a concept store designed to channel aspects of the Southern European culinary experience via smell, sight, sound and of course, taste.  By 2002, the company had expanded to Germany, Belgium and the UK, entering the US market two years later.  Yet despite Oil & Vinegar’s growth over its first five years, the original owners ran into financial woes.  It was only this year that new owners Assisi BV revived expansion efforts.

How is Oil & Vinegar romancing the New World?  The same way it always has – through the senses.  A gorgeous back-lit wall holds 40 seven-liter amphora-shaped glass vessels suspended by metal hanging brackets, which showcase fine vinegars as well as different oil varieties – Blood Orange, Tuscan Bonsecco, Garlic, Moroccan Spice and White Truffle, to name just a few… and all are available to sample.

Today, there are 70 Oil & Vinegar stores in eleven countries.  4 stores exist in the US and 2 more are opening in Washington State and South Carolina this Spring with another 4 expected to open by the end of the year.  An additional 8-10 stores are expected to open the year after that.

Who are the customers making this possible? People of all ages, genders and walks of life.  Lovers, appreciators, and self-styled foodies of all persuasions… discerning individuals who appreciate artisanal quality.

The real success-formula of specialty merchants like Oil & Vinegar?  They’re not just attracting olive oil fans.  They’re creating them.