Berk has been an ONAOO Professional Taster since 2022.

His partner, Sarah Baird, and he have young olive trees in the South Island of New Zealand (Aotearoa) and they hope to produce extra virgin olive oil from their grove.

Berk, moreover, is often be found on Twitter giving plant–based cooking tips.

Since 1986 he has been responsible for blending and sensory analysis at leading global companies in the olive oil sector.

Professional taster, Technical Deputy President and Panel Leader of the ONAOO Panel.

Lecturer in professional technical courses and university masters on sensory analysis.

Speaker at international conferences on olive oil and sensory analysis. Author of publications, articles and books on oil and tasting. Expert in international olive oil markets.

Valentina, born in Verona in 1989, has been studying with ONAOO since 2020.

With a degree in Food Science and Technology and ten years of experience in the industry as a quality control specialist, she has developed a strong passion for extra virgin olive oil and its unique flavours and aromas. To deepen her knowledge and refine her tasting technique, she decided to undertake a training course.

After completing the official technical course and passing the two-year advanced course exam, she earned the qualification of professional taster from ONAOO and is now registered as an international professional taster.

I was born in Ankara in 1978. After graduating from the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Ankara, I graduated in Marketing from the Sorbonne University.

After working for many years in the fashion sector in Paris, I decided to return to Turkey and to settle in Urla (Smyrna) in 2011, where I got married and had 2 children.

With the aim of producing the best olive oil in Urla, I started my training at ONAOO (Italy). After 5 years of training, I obtained the qualification of Professional Taster, and I launched my brand “Hiç Extra Virgin Olive Oil”. “Hiç Edible Olive Forest” is the place where my family and I produce olive oil and it is made up of 60,000 olive trees; this olive grove is the center of our holistic approach where nature, sustainable agriculture and gastronomy meet.

In 2018 we opened our restaurant, “Hiç Lokanta ve Tadım Atölyesi” (restaurant and tasting laboratory), where we emphasize all this diversity, the seasonality of nature’s treasures with New Urla Cuisine.

Now the “Hiç” brand has become a gastronomy and agricultural tourism platform with the Hiç olive grove in the center.