037 - Why we should eat olive oil with Sarah and Olive About Sarah Merrigan: Apart from some teaching English and writing work my background is food. I lived and worked as a chef in Barcelona after I finished college and that really began the love affair. There was a great food scene over there a real focus on local and seasonal eating that really blew my mind. At the time I was a strict vegetarian and that was what initially got me cooking and I discovered that I loved it. I would often host big...
037 - Why we should eat olive oil with Sarah and Olive
About Sarah Merrigan:
Apart from some teaching English and writing work my background is food. I lived and worked as a chef in Barcelona after I finished college and that really began the love affair. There was a great food scene over there a real focus on local and seasonal eating that really blew my mind. At the time I was a strict vegetarian and that was what initially got me cooking and I discovered that I loved it. I would often host big dinner parties which were vegetarian something that was very new over there and I was always trying new things. Eventually I left my teaching job and started running popups and studying cookery. I worked in various Catalan and Mediterranean fusion style kitchens which really cemented my interest in and love of the Mediterranean approach to eating – cooking what’s in season and (of course) lots of olive oil.
Then, when I returned to Ireland about 20 years ago, I set up an organic box scheme working with Irish farmers as well as importing from abroad. The weekly box included a recipe newsletter which later became a blog and I always loved this part of it. Running a box scheme was incredibly labour intensive especially with three young kids in the mix and after about 10 years I decided to pursue something a little less full on. A Spanish friend and fellow chef from Andalucía had introduced me to some incredible olive oil producers from her hometown of Jaen which also just happens to be ground zero for olive oil and I decided to introduce them to Ireland and that’s when Sarah and Olive was born in 2020. I started small and really focused on educating people about what they were buying – things like olive varieties, how to pair different oils with different foods as well as what makes a great olive oil and even basic concepts like what exactly is extra virgin olive oil. Just before Covid hit I made another visit to Jaen and met with two of the most highly regarded producers in the world – Finca la Torre and Nobleza del Sur and they agreed to allow me to distribute their oils in Ireland. Covid and the Lockdowns was a tricky time to be in business in terms of meeting people and doing in person tasting events but as everyone was cooking and eating more I gained lots of new customers and saw the business grow.
Now, we are stocked in outlets all over Dublin and beyond and my website sells the full range so olive oil fans anywhere in Ireland and Europe can get anything delivered. I started an Olive Oil Tasting Club in 2021 which guides members through a selection of oils over the course of a year and this has been very popular. At the moment I am getting ready to launch tasting events and master classes in many of our outlets and later on this year we will begin online tasting events which I hope will give people a fun and informative introduction to the world of Extra Virgin Olive Oil so they can learn how to choose and also what they like.
Sarah’s top 3 tips to improve your health are:
1. Eat a rainbow every day - it's the easiest way to make sure you eat a wide variety of foods every day
2. Cook from Scratch - even if it's a cake it won't contain all the bad stuff they put in processed food. It doesn't have to be complicated
3. Eat the seasons - you get food at its best at a good price and it also means that you'll get plenty of variety. I am a huge fan of our local markets.
Website: https://www.sarahandolive.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahandolivedublin/
Link to stockists: https://www.sarahandolive.com/pages/stockists
ABOUT THE HOST - Fiona Staunton
Fiona Staunton is a Ballymaloe trained Chef and has a Degree in Education from Trinity.
Fiona’s Food For Life' launched 2017 with the slogan ‘Cook, Eat, Nourish’. Fiona launched a series of in-person and virtual demonstrations, she makes cooking good food uncomplicated. More details on the website https://www.fionasfoodforlife.ie/
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