In 2003 I moved to an area on the mainland Greece near Kalamata, famous for its olive production. After a couple of months of looking, I found an olive grove in a small mountain village with the most spectacular view of the sea. It was beautiful but isolated, without even a telephone or television, and only the sea for company. As I did not feel ready to build a house I bought a caravan and had a 16ft square Mongolian yurt shipped over which I lived in. Despite the cold winters, the central wood fire and felt insulation kept me warm. I was the proud owner of 85 olive trees and planted 25 fruit trees.

I husbanded chickens, geese and ducks, and for a while cared for a homeless donkey. The neighbours were unbelievably welcoming, feeding me most nights and constantly arriving with fresh eggs, chickens and excess vegetables. Before Easter I got up and baked biscuits with them at dawn in their wood ovens. They taught me how to make cheese in huge pots on outside fires and how to identify medicinal herbs.

I learnt to feed, prune and pick the olives and take the sacks by donkey to the local co-operative olive press where the fruits of my labours were squeezed into pure, virgin organic oil. My oil is organic, extra virgin, cold pressed in a traditional stone mill and is extremely low in acidity which gives it many therapeutic and medicinal qualities. It is now for sale on my website and I also sell in farmer’s markets in London. I supply Michelin 2 restaurants in Soho, Arbutus and Wild Honey and famous chef Anthony Demetre has written an article on my oil for the magazine Food and travel. But the most imnportant way to know about my oil is to taste it yourself and you can find out more about it on my website

www.organic-olive-oil.co.uk

High up above the Messinian Bay, near the town of Kalamata Greece which is famous for its olives, is a village called Doli.

It is here that the olives are harvested by hand and pressed in the local co-operative olive press. This oil is the product of a first pressing which means it is the purest virgin oil possible. Many olive oils are pressed from the remains of a first pressing and still called virgin olive oil. Doli oil, however, is the finest and purest possible containing full goodness. Also, Doli Oil is lovingly grown without any chemicals or pesticides and is therefore, the gold of all olive oils.

Doli Oil has 0.05 percent acidity. This means that the olives are pressed within 48 hours of them being hand picked and then transported, by donkey, to the local co-operative oil press. The olives are then immediately pressed and then the oil is poured into containers. This swiftness of production accounts for it’s very low acidity and is extremely important as lower acidity equals better quality olive oil and is much more desirable to our taste buds. It’s enticing taste and addictive flavour truly makes it a food of the gods.