In the spring of 2007, while working for Apollo Olive Oil, I recorded several conversations with the late olive oil expert Marco Mugelli. They were talks on milling, tasting and olive oil history. I recently listened to the tapes.
In one of the sessions we discussed one of Marco’s favorite subjects, which was olive oil and food pairing. He often looked at the successful development of the wine industry as a possible mirror for what was ahead for our less developed, so far less successful industry.
The figure of the sommelier was something he pondered on. Before his premature and unexpected death, he was working with some wine sommeliers in order to develop a body of knowledge in terms of olive oil and food.
Some of the ideas he shared in the interviews were truly sophisticated. He would dig into very fine details. For instance, in the case of fish, he would pick a different olive oil according to the type of fish, the way the fish was cooked and taking heed of the texture of the olive oil as well.
It was fascinating to be in front of someone with such a level of expertise and by the discovery of that level of discrimination when it comes to food and cooking.
I did not grow up having conversations about food. Food in Argentina was sure tasty, though quite simple. It should be said that at that time, the collective attention food and cuisine enjoy today, was limited to smaller circles. Continue reading Paring Olive Oil and Food