Francesca Salvagno represents the third generation of milling art in the family company in Verona.
Besides being the marketing and communication manager of “Frantoio Salvagno”, managing the web and social media, she also cares the overseas market of the company to keep costumers and enthusiasts’ interest alive from all over the world who research more and more detailed product information.
Francesca has been a taster of ONAOO since years because she does firmly believe that knowledge and right communication can increase awareness of this special product, extra virgin olive oil.
Born in a country where butter is king and mayonnaise is queen, I was pleasantly surprised by the magnificent taste and pleasantness of extra virgin olive oil during my holidays in south east Crete in the 80s.
At the time, I was working in the product engineering sector in a multinational company, but I was ready for a change.
I started importing this delicious product and I set myself the challenge of letting the people who love butter in my country taste this gift of nature. As a pilot, I knew it was possible to fly without an engine, but not without knowledge and skills. I quickly realized that additional support was needed to achieve my goals.
So I knocked on ONAOO’s door. Thanks to the dedication of the teachers, I embarked on a fascinating 3-year learning path.
I enjoyed developing my skills and knowledge and thanks to this support I have seen my business grow. Through retail, restaurant, direct sales and the web shop, I distribute two superb brands of extra-virgin olive oil, one Greek and one Spanish. “Olijfwinkel.be” is my starting point, alongside my company “Techtel.be”.
Giuseppe was born in a small town in the province of Foggia, San Giovanni Rotondo.
For work reasons he moved to Campania, where he still lives today.
Strongly tied to the memories of his beloved Puglia, Giuseppe decides to open a farm to be able to carry on the family business to which his father has dedicated himself for more than 50 years; in the middle of the Tavoliere delle Puglie, every year 2,400 olive trees are finely selected in order to offer the best extra virgin olive oil.
In order to enrich his knowledge, Giuseppe decides to start his training course in the ONAOO School in 2018 and ended in 2021: after passing the exams of the Advanced Course, Giuseppe obtains the qualification of ONAOO Professional Taster.
In addition to the training activities, Giuseppe participated in the ONAOO Meeting in 2020 and other online tasting activities also organized by the School.
Saskia was born in the Netherlands and currently lives with her beloved family in Belgium, where she practises her profession. She graduated in medicine at the University of Antwerp, specialising in gynaecology and obstetrics. In addition to her medical career, Saskia is passionate about her family, sports, creativity and cooking.
Her love for olive oil blossomed during her travels and led her to deepen her knowledge of this natural product, rich in health-promoting properties.
She attended courses at the ONAOO Institute in Imperia. In 2024, after three years of intensive training, Saskia qualified as a professional taster. Determined to make people aware of the many benefits of olive oil, she is actively expanding her network of contacts and passionately pursuing the path that this extraordinary raw material offers her. She has a particular interest in Croatian olive oil, an area she explores with great curiosity.
Domenico was born in Messina in 1986 and graduated in biological sciences with a degree in nutrition.
He currently works as the chemical laboratory manager for oil quality control at ‘Manfredi Barbera e Figli SPA,’ one of the most well-known oil mills in Sicily. In 2021, he obtained his physiological suitability for tasting and in 2024 he obtained the title of professional taster O.N.A.O.O.
Training as professional olive oil tasters is not only a personal pleasure: the universe that revolves around olive oil and its supply chain also offers a wide range of job, growth and specialization opportunities.
The advanced course allows you to consolidate and deepen your knowledge of oil tasting and obtain the qualification of ONAOO Professional Taster, but above all, to be included in the "International Register of Professional Tasters".
Participants learn about varieties, processing, and sensory tasting, with practical exercises under the guidance of experts.
Participants are invited to recognize strengths, weaknesses, qualities and organoleptic characteristics of the various oils
