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.

Professional Taster of ONAOO since 2022.

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.

Jørgen Lund has been an importer of EVOO in Norway for 15 years and distributes to small deli-shops, supermarkets and the HoReCa-segment.

He offers training/tasting sessions and consulting services in his national market. He has specialized in Italian EVOO and works at present with Liguria, Veneto, Tuscany, Lazio and Sicily.

He had been living and working in Genoa for 3 years since the beginning of 2000 where he picked up the passion for quality EVOO.

To improve his knowledge on the subject, he started his training with ONAOO in 2005 by attending a technical course, in 2013 he became a sommelier of olive oil at ALMA / Parma; in 2017 he becomes a Professional Taster of the ONAOO School of which he regularly attends refresher courses. Jørgen is «Full-time ambassador for quality EVOO», too.

He became also an importer of Italian wine and has started Wine Sommelier training in Norway