Olive Oil Sommelier Program Returns to California

The Olive Oil Sommelier Certification Program will return to Campbell, California September 10-15. It will be the sixth edition of the groundbreaking course produced by the Olive Oil Times Education Lab in partnership with the International Culinary Center.

The six-day, two-level program features the world’s foremost olive oil experts and educators in a comprehensive series of lessons and workshops spanning production, quality management, and advanced sensory assessment.

Those who successfully complete the course receive olive oil sommelier certification and join a growing community of olive oil sensory analysts and educators.

So far, the program has offered five sessions in New York and one in California that saw students from every corner of the world — 22 countries in all.

Attendees have ranged from small producers to representatives of the very largest; from quality-control technicians to professional chefs and restaurateurs; from independent retailers to major distributors.

Over the course of the week, participants will be led through guided tastings of more than 130 samples of olive oil from more than two dozen countries by instructors from Italy, Greece, Chile, Spain, New York and California.

The interactive program spans the history and culture of olive oil, olive tree cultivation and harvesting, milling and production, health benefits and chemistry, quality management, culinary applications and food pairing and, of course, the sensory evaluation of extra virgin olive oil.

In fact, past participants of the program have wasted little time putting their expertise and connections to work around the world.

“Fabulous course with incredible amounts of information that can (and will) be used as a reference guide for years to come,” a producer from California who completed the six-day program said.

Another producer from Turkey said, “I have learned much more than I expected. It was a very well structured and organized course.”

“I thought it was excellent,” said Jacqueline Tyburski, a digital marketing strategist for a software and services company in Portland, Oregon. “The quality and range of instruction were at a level that far surpassed my expectations.”

Willem Voorvaart, a Dutch financial investor and part-time farmer who splits his time between London and France agreed. “I should have taken the course five years ago. Very instructive, good topics, well structured and excellent speakers,” he said.

To register for the program, visit the Olive Oil Times Education Lab website.

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