International Culinary Center to Offer Olive Oil Sommelier Certification

The Olive Oil Times Education Lab, in con­junc­tion with the International Culinary Center, announced today the launch of a series of cer­ti­fi­ca­tion courses for aspir­ing olive oil som­me­liers.

The announce­ment was made by Olive Oil Times pub­lisher, Curtis Cord and Dorothy Hamilton, the founder of the International Culinary Center at a press con­fer­ence in New York.

“The Olive Oil Sommelier Certification Program will bring the world’s fore­most olive oil experts and edu­ca­tors to New York and the International Culinary Theater in a com­pre­hen­sive series of courses span­ning pro­duc­tion, qual­ity man­age­ment and advanced sen­sory assess­ment,” said Cord, who will serve as its exec­u­tive direc­tor.

The first three-day course, level one of a three-course series, will begin this fall at the International Culinary Center in Soho (New York). Advanced level courses will con­tinue quar­terly.

“There has never been a greater need to fos­ter a deeper under­stand­ing of this impor­tant food among tomorrow’s culi­nary lead­ers, and there is no bet­ter place to reach them than the International Culinary Center,” Cord said.

Extra vir­gin olive oil is the unre­fined juice from olives which has been part of the cul­tural her­itage around the world for thou­sands of years. Like wine, olive oil reflects its ter­roir and exhibits com­plex taste char­ac­ter­is­tics depend­ing on the olive vari­eties used and count­less other vari­ables in cul­ti­va­tion and pro­cess­ing.

Extra vir­gin olive oil is cov­eted for proven health ben­e­fits and its abil­ity to enhance the tastes of foods. Chefs around the world are learn­ing to har­ness the end­less pos­si­bil­i­ties in their kitchens and there is a grow­ing demand for high-qual­ity olive oils and those who can iden­tify them.

“The International Culinary Center has always been at the fore­front of culi­nary inno­va­tion, and we’re proud to launch the first Olive Oil Sommelier Program,” said Hamilton. ​“We are excited to team up with the Olive Oil Times Education Lab to intro­duce a never-before-seen, inno­v­a­tive pro­gram to our cur­rent and future stu­dents.”

The unveil­ing of the new som­me­lier pro­gram coin­cided with the release of the results of the New York International Olive Oil Competition, the world’s largest and most pres­ti­gious olive oil qual­ity con­test. More than 800 entries from 25 coun­tries com­peted at the four-day event. Spain took home the most awards, fol­lowed by Italy and Greece.

For more infor­ma­tion on the Olive Oil Sommelier Certification Program, visit the International Culinary Center web­site, or oliveoilschool.org.