"Finally I've tidied a few things up"

My mother, Ornella, started her cookery book Guida Golosa with the phrase "Finalmente ho fatto un po' d'ordine" - which translated sound something like "Finally, I've tidied a few things up". Today, I also finally managed to sit down, organise some of my food recipes, and create this space.

What my mother left to me is her passion for good quality food and traditional Italian recipes, particularly from the places where she was raised and where we spent our family holidays and enjoyed long and traditional Sunday lunches with families and friends.

My mum lived in many different places in Italy and this has influenced her, but also my, take on food and cooking. In Solopaca, in the Sannium area in the South of Italy where mum was born and raised, and where we have our family olive groves, we have learnt from our grandparents and great grandparents to appreciate good and simple but high quality food and local produce.

In Lipari, a small island off the Northern coast of Sicily, where we had many lovely holidays with family and friends, we discovered how with just a few local and fresh ingredients you can create exceptional dishes.

But also London, where I have been living for over 15 years has significantly influence the way I cook. I still remember when my mother and I walked around London discovering local products and restaurants and then together try to replicate, with our own twist, the various dishes we tried in London and around the UK. I still remember, several phone calls with mum where we shared tips and recipes and planned together nice menus for dinner parties.

We have been very lucky to see our our family cultivating the land, making wine and extra virgin olive oil, and this is where our passion for good and genuine food, and nice ingredients such as our Uliveti Castel San Martino extra virgin olive oil, comes from.

A few years ago mum inherited from my grandmother, nonna Lucia, some olive groves in Solopaca, and I still remember when she told me that she wanted to re-start the family business of producing extra virgin olive oil from Solopaca.

Five years on, and now, together with my father, Ernsto, with Nils Johan, and good friends and colleagues in Solopaca we continue what mum and other family members have done before us.

In this page we will share some of our nice recipes and tips on how to use Uliveti Castel San Martino extra virgin olive oil.

I hope you enjoy our page and that you find it useful! And Buon Appetito!