Why There Won’t Be an ‘Awards Gala’ at the 2020 NYIOOC

Each year after the judg­ing is com­pleted at the NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, one of the best parts of my job has been to rec­og­nize, one by one, the ded­i­cated pro­duc­ers who man­aged to craft the year’s best olive oils.

So it might come as a sur­prise that, for the 8^th edi­tion of the NYIOOC, I have decided to scrap what some have referred to as the ​“Olive Oil Oscars.” It was a deci­sion, how­ever, based on the fun­da­men­tal mis­sion of the com­pe­ti­tion.

Participating in the NYIOOC is costly for pro­duc­ers, as is send­ing sam­ples from all parts of the world. Traveling to New York to accept a prize is even more so, which explains why less than ten per­cent of the pro­duc­ers who enter their brands in the com­pe­ti­tion have attended the gala.

As much as I have enjoyed the annual reunion in New York, I found that I was see­ing the same faces year after year.

It was an expen­sive party paid for by 1,000 pro­duc­ers but enjoyed by very few of them.

Instead, for 2020, we have been invest­ing in new ways to cel­e­brate and rec­og­nize every award win­ner and raise aware­ness of the com­pe­ti­tion results around the world.

This year, the results of the judg­ing will be revealed in real-time, allow­ing pro­duc­ers and the pub­lic to fol­low and share these remark­able achieve­ments as they unfold.

Olive Oil Times writ­ers will be fan­ning out in every region to report on win­ning pro­duc­ers in break­ing-news arti­cles opti­mized for shar­ing and syn­di­ca­tion.

We’re invest­ing in new fea­tures on the Best Olive Oils Index, includ­ing the new retail loca­tor that will help every­one find an award-win­ning oil nearby.

And we’re expand­ing the Best Olive Oils Marketplace to Canada and Europe to help pro­duc­ers and their dis­trib­u­tors get their high-qual­ity olive oils into even more of the kitchens where they deserve to be.

The NYIOOC team never stops devel­op­ing new ways to cel­e­brate and rec­og­nize award-win­ning pro­duc­ers. Sometimes that means let­ting go of the old ways.

Everyone likes a good party, but we want to thank every­one who pro­duced the year’s best olive oils — whether they can make it to New York or not.

This year, for NYIOOC 2020, we’re going to do just that.