Born in England, but she has lived in Italy for over 35 years. After obtaining a degree in history, she began working in tourism.

Her passion for olives started with the olive grove around her hotel on Lake Como. Later, due to a challenge with her husband, she decided to open an olive mill high in the mountains at 1816 meters in Livigno. From there, she began her adventure in the world of extra virgin olive oil with her company O’Liv.

Prior to establishing the company, he attended ONAOO’s technical course in 2020 to expand his knowledge. During the course, she developed a passion for oil tasting and qualified to join the national list of virgin and extra virgin olive oil technicians and experts in 2022. Following the two-year advanced training course, she became a professional olive oil taster in 2024.

She frequently attends ONAOO’s tasting sessions as she believes that training is essential for personal and professional growth as a taster.

Claudia lives in Scuol (Switzerland) and in Dolceacqua in the province of Imperia, where she owns a land with olive trees. Since 2011 from these olive trees she produces extra virgin olive oil with the label “DONNA CLAUDIA”.

Registered since 2015 in the National List of technicians and experts of virgin and extra virgin olive oils – held by Mi.P.A.F.F. (Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies). Claudia obtained the qualification of ONAOO Professional Taster in 2017. She has been an importer of quality olive oil since 2016.

Claudia is also a Journalist for a Swiss Television – Hotel Manager – Museum Curator; she also works in the cultural sector.

I have been an ONAOO Professional Taster since 2017. After obtaining the sensorial license, I have been a member and judge of the Swiss Olive Oil Panel (SOP) at ZHAW School of Life Sciences and Facility Management since 2002.

I have been a judge at the ZHAW International Olive Oil Award since 2002 and in other international competitions.

I am the owner and CEO of “Mitera GmbH”: producer of olive oil of Cretan millennial quality, DNA approved both in Crete and Umbria. I am also a nutritionist.

I completed my training in O.N.A.O.O. in 2018. Through my work as purchasing director of Mediterranean products, I was also responsible for the olive oil category. Being Dutch, I knew very little about it and luckily I found the training in Imperia and I can safely say it changed my life.

After 12 years I quit my job as purchasing director and continued in the world of olive oil. By now I had also done the Sommelier training in New York as well as the Master Miller training in Jaen, Enough baggage to ask the Ministry to nominate me as a panel leader at the European Union.

In between, I wrote the book “Olive Oil” and this has been translated into English, French and German and still my book brings olive oil lovers the idea to follow in my footsteps and we will meet again in Imperia. O.N.A.O.O. is one big family! Meanwhile, I founded the Olive Oil Institute and the Netherlands has an IOC certified panel consisting of 15 panel members, most of them trained by O.N.A.O.O.

In addition to a panel, the Olive Oil Institute has an electronic nose so that tests can be done not only subjectively but also objectively.

Several universities are also looking for such a method and we expect that this combination will improve quality overall. However, the panel will always exist because how good is good or how bad is bad, that remains a human judgment.