Nicola Lotito, born in 1960, Lives in Andria (BT). Nicola has been employed by Azienda Pellegrino S.r.l. since 1990, where he currently serves as Technical Manager in the production sector.

In addition to his managerial duties, Nicola oversees bottling operations with a small team of collaborators. In 1991, he attended the extra virgin olive oil tasting course organized by ONAOO, and in 1992, he obtained the diploma of professional taster with mention of merit. Since 2015, he has been included in the Apulia Region’s Master Oilman Register.

Since 1992, Nicola has attended refresher courses for oil tasters. He participates in numerous trade fairs and workshops and also organizes farm incoming for national and foreign delegations and for schools of different orders. Nicola is a member of the national project “BIMBOIL,” for which he coordinates and facilitates tasting classes for elementary schools.

Marina has a degree in Food Preparation Sciences. She is currently the Quality Manager at the “Oleificio Pietro Coricelli S.p.A.”.

Marina deals with quality certifications, contacts with customers and consumers. It also deals with the surveillance of the quality of products and processes, the control of incoming oils from a sensorial point of view. She was also Head of Quality Assurance at “Carapelli Firenze” and Quality Manager of “Agnesi Spa” for the production of pasta in the Danone group. Marina has been an ONAOO Professional Taster since 2001.

Marina was the winner in 2015 of “THE GREAT CHALLENGE – THE WORLDWIDE OLIVE OIL TASTERS’ CHALLENGE” at the Milan EXPO. She regularly attends refresher courses organized by ONAOO of which she has also become a member of the Council in 2019.

Aldo holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Genoa and a Master of Science in Communication and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) with certification from Dr. Richard Bandler’s NLP Society.

He has been professionally engaged in the fields of oil and quality for two decades.

In 2023 and 2024, he was included in the official list of the 110 Panel Leaders recognized by the International Olive Council (C.O.I.). Additionally, he has served as a MASAF Panel Leader in Italy since 2023, directing the Federolio 4 Panel.

He has professional experience in the industry as a master blender and quality control specialist, having worked with leading companies in Italy and abroad, including DEOLEO/CARAPELLI, SUGAT Industries LTD group, and others.

He has been a professional taster for the ONAOO since 2000, when he was included in the Panel of the CCIAA of Imperia for the certification of PDO oils. He was awarded the prestigious first prize in the National Competition organized by ONAOO, “The Taster of the Year,” and he was subsequently awarded the absolute title again in 2021.

Since 2016, he has been the driving force behind the Monte Carlo Masters of Olive Oil International Competition (MOOOIC). He has also served as a judge and panel head in numerous national and international competitions in Italy, Turkey, Israel, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, and South Africa.

Over the years, he has participated as a guest lecturer and lecturer in public, corporate, and university conferences in different countries, including Italy, Israel, South Africa, Turkey, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, and others. In 2023, he published his first popular book, entitled “EVOO 99+1 Questions to Really Know Olive Oil.”

He provides business consulting and training services, organizing courses for individuals and companies in Italy and abroad in Italian and English.

Maria was born in Salento and lives between Busto Arsizio, Rome and San Remo. She has had a career in public administration for 28 years, in a municipality and a ministry.

Maria works freelance as a journalist, PR, communicator, writer, event organizer. She has written books in teams and individually, and has edited several texts and volumes. She is a member of ONAOO and became a Professional Oil Taster at the ONAOO School in 2017.

She is also a chocolate taster in the Lindt panel. For the last six years she has been working in the oil industry as a producer, taster, communicator and event organizer.