Manuela was born in Genoa but spent her entire childhood in Imperia. She currently resides between Imperia, Shanghai, and Bangkok.
She represents the fourth generation of can makers and is actively involved in the “Guatelli Museum”, which houses the Family Collection of Italian Olive Oil Cans. This collection comprises over 6,000 pieces of olive oil cans and lithographic stones, which provide important evidence of the flourishing industry related to the oil trade that developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
In 2006, Manuela relocated to Asia with her husband and four sons. Despite the distance, she has not forgotten her roots. She has promoted the prestige of extra virgin olive oil, the history and flavors of Mediterranean cuisine beyond national borders through organizing Italian cooking classes, on-demand chefs and catering.
Her passion for extra virgin olive oil has its roots in her family; in fact, her father dedicated his life to the production of oil cans. My father, who crossed Europe every week to sell his cans, would return home on weekends with stories and anecdotes about this fascinating industry.
Having a global vision of the oil market, he could grasp even the smallest nuances of it, which made me want to be part of this wonderful world. In recent years, she finally managed to crown her passion by attending the ONAOO Course and becoming a Professional Taster in 2024. Manuela is actively engaged with several Italian associations abroad, promoting the history, culture, and art of extra virgin olive oil tasting on a global scale.
Nina is a dedicated olive oil nerd with a passion and mission to spread the knowledge about and access to high-quality EVOO in Denmark. She has been an ONAOO Professional Taster since 2022. Nina owns “Oliviers & Co.” in Denmark with her partner.
The business was established in 2019 after Nina had been working in the Copenhagen boutique shop on and off since 2006, next to her university studies. Nina disseminates knowledge about EVOO at the two “Oliviers & Co.” boutique shops in Copenhagen. Customers are guided and can sample the extensive range of olive oils from reputable producers with full traceability, along with other Mediterranean delicacies.
The shops are located in Frederiksberg and in the food market “TorvehallerneKBH”. She also teaches about olive oil at monthly olive oil tastings in the boutique and at events. Additionally, she oversees the online operations of the “Oliviers & Co.” web shop – oliviersogco.dk – and its associated social media channels, where she engages with consumers about olive oil. Nina holds a degree in Public Health and Food Policy from a university.
Michelle, born in 1997, graduated in Business Administration in the University of Studies in Torino. In 2020 passed the selective trials at the end of the Official Technical Course for Olive Oil Tasters obtaining the Certificate of Physiological Suitability for Tasting. In 2022, after passing the advanced course’s exam, she became a Professional Taster of ONAOO. Currently she has been working in the family olive oil mill, F.lli Ruata S.p.a., in Baldissero d’Alba (Cuneo, Piedmont).
Roberto Rastrelli is a Professional Taster of ONAOO since 1989.
Marco’s academic credentials—a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Banking, a Master’s degree in Family Mediation, and twenty years of work at a banking institution—did not dissuade him from pursuing a new career path in 2016.
His roots were firmly planted in his family’s olive grove in upper Tuscia (meaning the Viterbese area and generally upper Lazio). From an early age, this location represented leisure, feasting, and conviviality during the harvesting and oil production seasons.
As he matured, he embarked on a new adventure with the goal of emulating his Etruscan ancestors, the first true ambassadors of the culture of olive oil of exceptional quality. He pursued his education primarily through the large family of ONAOO and in March 2022, he graduated as a Professional Taster.
For the past three years, he has been based in Bavaria, where he runs a business offering both advisory services to specialty retailers and restaurateurs and the import and sale of high-quality extra virgin olive oil.
Manuela was born in Genoa but spent her entire childhood in Imperia. She currently resides between Imperia, Shanghai, and Bangkok.
She represents the fourth generation of can makers and is actively involved in the “Guatelli Museum”, which houses the Family Collection of Italian Olive Oil Cans. This collection comprises over 6,000 pieces of olive oil cans and lithographic stones, which provide important evidence of the flourishing industry related to the oil trade that developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
In 2006, Manuela relocated to Asia with her husband and four sons. Despite the distance, she has not forgotten her roots. She has promoted the prestige of extra virgin olive oil, the history and flavors of Mediterranean cuisine beyond national borders through organizing Italian cooking classes, on-demand chefs and catering.
Her passion for extra virgin olive oil has its roots in her family; in fact, her father dedicated his life to the production of oil cans. My father, who crossed Europe every week to sell his cans, would return home on weekends with stories and anecdotes about this fascinating industry.
Having a global vision of the oil market, he could grasp even the smallest nuances of it, which made me want to be part of this wonderful world. In recent years, she finally managed to crown her passion by attending the ONAOO Course and becoming a Professional Taster in 2024. Manuela is actively engaged with several Italian associations abroad, promoting the history, culture, and art of extra virgin olive oil tasting on a global scale.
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