The Culinary Institute of America

Olive Oil in the Plant-Forward Kitchen Interview Series: Darrell Corti of Corti Brothers

Here, Darrell Corti discusses the essential olive oils for a well-stocked kitchen and how different cultures use and think about olive oil.
Frank Corti And Gino Corti started Corti Brothers in 1947 with a mission to expand the culinary experiences of their Sacramento neighbors. Son, Darrell Corti of Corti Brothers was made a Cavaliere, the Italian equivalent of knighthood, by the Italian government for his efforts in promoting Italian products to America. Darrell was an early champion of local olive production, and serves as chairman of the Los Angeles County Fair's International Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition.
This recipe and video were produced by The Culinary Institute of America as an industry service, thanks to the generous support of the International Olive Council.
Learn more about olive oil at https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/olive-oil-and-the-plant-forward-kitchen 

Olive Oil in the Plant-Forward Kitchen Interview Series: Nancy Harmon Jenkins

In this interview, Nancy Harmon Jenkins discusses making her own olive oil, what olive oils she has in her kitchen, the joy of bitter oils, and how to pair the right olive oil with a dish.
Nancy Harmon Jenkins is a nationally known food writer who has traveled the world looking for the connection between who we are and what we eat. She is the author of many books, the latest of which is The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook (2008). She is also the author of Cucina del Sole: A Celebration of Southern Italian Cooking (2007); The Essential Mediterranean (2003); Flavors of Tuscany (1998); Flavors of Puglia (1997); and the highly acclaimed original version of the Mediterranean Diet Cookbook (1994). Formerly a staff writer with The New York Times, today Ms. Jenkins contributes to a number of publications, including The New York Times, Food & Wine, Eating Well, and Saveur. During the past 15 years she has led many food and wine tours to Sicily, northern Spain, Tuscany-Umbria, and other Mediterranean regions for The Culinary Institute of America.
This recipe and video were produced by The Culinary Institute of America as an industry service, thanks to the generous support of the International Olive Council.

Olive Oil in the Plant-Forward Kitchen Interview Series: Diane Kochilas

In this interview, Diane Kochilas discusses the role of olive oil in Greek cuisine from her home in Athens, Greece.
Diane Kochilas is a chef, award-winning cookbook author, and cooking school owner—has been at the forefront of bringing healthy, delicious Greek cuisine to a wide international audience for many years. She is the host and co-producer of My Greek Table, a national cooking-travel series on public television. She is consulting chef at Committee Restaurant, a meze concept in Boston and has worked with many of the top Greek restaurants in North America. Every summer, she runs the Glorious Greek Cooking School on her native island, Ikaria, a Blue Zone, renowned for the longevity of its inhabitants. Kochilas's latest book is My Greek Table: Authentic Flavors and Modern Home Cooking from My Kitchen to Yours, (St. Martin's Press). Her previous book, Ikaria: Food, Life and Longevity from the Island where People Forget to Die (Rodale, fall 2014), won an IACP Award for Best Cookbook, International Category; the 2015 Books for a Better Life Award by the MS Society; and was nominated for an Art of Eating award. She has authored more than 18 cookbooks in both English and Greek, including another IACP winner, The Glorious Foods of Greece, and The Greek Vegetarian. Diane has worked with several universities around the United States to bring healthy Greek cuisine to student dining, including UMass Amherst, Harvard, and Yale. She divides her time between New York City, Boston, the Greek island of Ikaria, and Athens.
This recipe and video were produced by The Culinary Institute of America as an industry service, thanks to the generous support of the International Olive Council.
Learn more about olive oil at https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/olive-oil-and-the-plant-forward-kitchen

Olive Oil in the Plant-Forward Kitchen Interview Series: María José San Román

In this interview, María José San Román discusses the role of olive oil in Spanish cuisine, the importance of sustainability, and her love of frying foods in olive oil. 
María José San Román is the co-owner and executive chef of GRUPO GOURMET in Alicante Spain. With a collection of five restaurants, including her landmark restaurant, Monastrell, for which she was first awarded a prestigious Michelin star in 2013 and La Taberna del Gourmet, winner of the National Award for Best Bar in Spain, she blends Mediterranean tradition with creative innovation to bring classic Spanish ingredients to the contemporary restaurant table. Maria José’s cuisine is based on a philosophy and vision that celebrates the bounty and flavor of local ingredients with distinctive style. Recognized as both Spain’s Queen of Saffron and a leading authority on extra-virgin olive oil, she is renowned as an international ambassador of Spanish culinary excellence. Her cuisine pays homage to a wide range of classic flavors from her Spanish coastal roots including extra virgin olive oil, rice, seafood and saffron. GRUPO GOURMET ALICANTE (www.grupo-gourmet.com), a gastronomic project founded in 1975, includes restaurants Monastrell, La Taberna del Gourmet, La Vaquería, Tribeca, La Terraza del Gourmet and Taller de pan, each celebrating distinctively Spanish gastronomy and contributing to Alicante’s status as one of the top hospitality centers of Spain. 
This recipe and video were produced by The Culinary Institute of America as an industry service, thanks to the generous support of the International Olive Council.
Learn more about olive oil at https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/olive-oil-and-the-plant-forward-kitchen 

Olive Oil in the Plant-Forward Kitchen Interview Series: Anissa Helou

In this interview, Anissa Helou discusses how olive oil is an absolute essential ingredient in the Mediterranean kitchen for its health benefits, richness and wonderful flavor.
Anissa Helou (www.anissas.com) is a chef, food writer, journalist, broadcaster, consultant and blogger focusing on the cuisines and culinary heritage of the Middle East, Mediterranean and North Africa. Born and raised between Beirut, Lebanon, and Mashta el-Helou, Syria, she knows the Mediterranean as only a well-traveled native can. Anissa is the author of numerous award-winning cookbooks, including Sweet Middle East; Levant; The Fifth Quarter, an Offal Cookbook; Modern Mezze; Savory Baking from the Mediterranean; Mediterranean Street Food; Café Morocco; and Lebanese Cuisine, which was a finalist for the prestigious Andre Simon awards and chosen as one of the Los Angeles Times’ favorite books in 1998. Lebanese Cuisine remains the classic and most comprehensive work on this increasingly popular cuisine. Her new book, Feast: The Food of the Islamic World, was published to great acclaim by Ecco in May 2018. It has been short-listed for the very prestigious Art of Eating award and was on “Best of the Year” lists in numerous publications. It has also won the James Beard Foundation award in the International category and was nominated for the IACP awards in the General and International categories. An accomplished photographer and intrepid traveler, she runs culinary tours to various Mediterranean countries and also teaches cooking classes. Anissa was the featured chef in the travel/cooking Show, Al Chef Yaktachef (meaning the chef discovers), shown on Abu Dhabi TV in 2010. She has also featured as one of the judges/mentors to a team of chefs in Taste Arabia, which aired on Al Nahar TV in Egypt and OSN all over the Arab world and was one of the guest judges in the final of one of the series of Top Chef Arabia. She was also listed in 2013 in Arabian Business as one of the 100 Most Powerful Arab Women and on the 500 Most Influential Arabs. Anissa was also the first ever chef-in-residence in Leighton House during their Nour festival in November 2011. In 2013 she helped a group of Egyptian entrepreneurs open Koshari Street in Covent Garden, where they serve her gourmet version of Koshari, the ultimate Egyptian street food. Koshari Street was chosen by the Financial Times as one of London’s five best street foods. She is no longer associated with Koshari Street and she now divides her time between Sicily, where she will eventually have a teaching kitchen, and London. 
In this interview, Anissa Helou discusses how olive oil is an absolute essential ingredient in the Mediterranean kitchen for its health benefits, richness and wonderful flavor.
This recipe and video were produced by The Culinary Institute of America as an industry service, thanks to the generous support of the International Olive Council.
Learn more about olive oil at https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/olive-oil-and-the-plant-forward-kitchen 

Olive Oil in the Plant-Forward Kitchen Interview Series: Harold McGee

Harold McGee writes about the science of food and cooking. He started out studying physics and astronomy at the California Institute of Technology, and then English literature at Yale University. In 1984 he published On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. Twenty years later, the revised and enlarged edition of On Food and Cooking was named best food reference of 2004 by the James Beard Foundation and the International Association of Culinary Professionals. In 2005, Bon Appétit magazine named McGee food writer of the year, and in 2008, Time magazine included him on its annual list of the world’s most influential people. Along the way McGee published The Curious Cook: More Kitchen Science and Lore (1990), and has written articles and reviews for many publications, including The World Book Encyclopedia, Nature, Physics Today, Food & Wine, and Fine Cooking. He writes a monthly column, “The Curious Cook,” for The New York Times. (San Francisco, CA) November 2010
This video was produced by The Culinary Institute of America as an industry service to the International Olive Oil Commission. 
Learn more about olive oil at https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/olive-oil-and-the-plant-forward-kitchen 

Olive Oil in the Plant-Forward Kitchen Interview Series: Mercedes Fernández Albaladejo

In this interview, Mercedes Fernández Albaladejo discusses the health benefits of olive oils, different categories of olive oils, factors that go into olive oil varieties, pairing the right olive oil with the right dish, and more!
Mercedes Fernández Albaladejo works for the executive secretariat of the International Olive Council (IOC), the United Nations-brokered international commodity organization for olives and olive oil. After qualifying and working as a doctor, she joined the IOC where she was initially in charge of overseeing IOC-funded scientific research. Since 2005, she has headed the Standardization and Research Unit, which is responsible for developing and updating standards and methods for the physicochemical and sensory analysis of olive products in partnership with experts and specialist agencies and for harmonizing product standards in line with the objectives of the International Olive Oil and Table Olive Agreement. The focus of her work is on quality control, fair international trading, consumer rights protection, and fraud prevention. She liaises actively with international standards agencies and participates as a speaker in international congresses and seminars besides writing publications and articles on olive oil and table olives.
This recipe and video were produced by The Culinary Institute of America as an industry service, thanks to the generous support of the International Olive Council.
Learn more about olive oil at https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/olive-oil-and-the-plant-forward-kitchen

An Olive Oil Master Class with Mercedes Fernández Albaladejo

In this Olive Oil Master Class, Mercedes Fernández Albaladejo gives us an overview of olive oil technical standards of quality and flavor insights for chefs and culinary professionals.
Mercedes Fernández Albaladejo works for the executive secretariat of the International Olive Council (IOC), the United Nations-brokered international commodity organization for olives and olive oil. After qualifying and working as a doctor, she joined the IOC where she was initially in charge of overseeing IOC-funded scientific research. Since 2005, she has headed the Standardization and Research Unit, which is responsible for developing and updating standards and methods for the physicochemical and sensory analysis of olive products in partnership with experts and specialist agencies and for harmonizing product standards in line with the objectives of the International Olive Oil and Table Olive Agreement. The focus of her work is on quality control, fair international trading, consumer rights protection, and fraud prevention. She liaises actively with international standards agencies and participates as a speaker in international congresses and seminars besides writing publications and articles on olive oil and table olives. (Madrid, Spain)
This recipe and video were produced by The Culinary Institute of America as an industry service, thanks to the generous support of the International Olive Council.
Learn more about olive oil at https://www.plantforwardkitchen.org/olive-oil-and-the-plant-forward-kitchen