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.

Alex, a native food enthusiast and skilled chef from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, runs a restaurant called Alessandro Mediterranean, which offers a wide array of delectable Mediterranean dishes.

Driven by his passion for European cuisine, Alex has also established a European gourmet food store. This store specializes in various European food products and tableware, with a particular emphasis on Italian cuisine. It aims to bring authentic European flavors to its customers by providing high-quality ingredients, handcrafted products, and elegant silverware, creating a unique dining experience. Alex honed his skills in this area as a professional olive oil taster by completing his training in ONAOO in 2018. He also serves as a trainer for the Specialty Coffee Association.

With these skills, he ensures that customers receive the finest products and services. To help customers understand European culinary culture better, Alex’s store regularly hosts cooking and coffee classes and wine-tasting events. These activities allow customers to learn how to create authentic European dishes hands-on and bring the Italian lifestyle to their homes.

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.

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, she 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.