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.
Besides her management career as a Civil Engineer and Economist, Ilknur pursued her ambition to learn more about the plants and herbs of her native Turkey and their nutritional importance since 2004, gaining degrees in Agriculture and Culinary Arts.
Growing up on the Aegean coast of Anatolia amongst ancient olive groves led her become a Certified Olive Oil Sommelier and in 2019 started her educational path in the ONAOO School ended in 2022 becoming a Professional Taster.
She currently conducts masterclasses and is a consultant on the subject of the Mediterranean lifestyle, specializing in olive oil tasting and its use in cooking since she’s a Chef. She’s also a Business Consultant based in UK.
Berk is a researcher at the World Bank with a PhD in economics.
He 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.
They live with two dogs and two sheep, love animals, and enjoy plant-based cooking.
Emanuel Andrietti was born in Ventimiglia (IM) on February 1, 1976, and holds a degree in law.
From an early age, he has been engaged in the family-owned olive oil enterprise, which was established by his father in 1945. He has come to recognize the necessity of acquiring a comprehensive understanding of the trade, given his role as the sole heir.
His father, who had him at an advanced age, remains his primary source of guidance and support at the age of 94. Approximately ten years ago, he made the decision to also enter the production side of the business. In collaboration with three colleagues, he acquired an existing olive press in Dolceacqua (IM), which had previously been utilized exclusively for third-party processing.
The press was entirely renovated and transformed into a new, continuously expanding agricultural enterprise that focuses on the cultivation and production of extra virgin olive oil made exclusively from Taggiasca olives.
In 2024, he successfully completed his training at the National Organization of Olive Oil Tasters (ONAOO), earning the title of “Professional Taster.”
Danielle was born in England, but she has lived in Italy for over 35 years.
After obtaining a degree in history, she began working in tourism. Her passion for olives started with the olive grove around her hotel on Lake Como. Later, due to a challenge with her husband, she decided to open an olive mill high in the mountains at 1816 meters in Livigno. From there, she began her adventure in the world of extra virgin olive oil with her company “O’Liv”.
Prior to establishing the company, he attended ONAOO’s technical course in 2020 to expand his knowledge.
During the course, she developed a passion for oil tasting and qualified to join the national list of virgin and extra virgin olive oil technicians and experts in 2022. Following the two-year advanced training course, she became a professional olive oil taster in 2024. She frequently attends ONAOO’s tasting sessions as she believes that training is essential for personal and professional growth as a taster.
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
