Ravida

We are sure, though, that when we first tasted the oil we had no doubt that it was going to be a great addition to our then very small range. And so it has proved to be.

First, let’s set the scene. Driving from bustling Palermo and catching glimpses of the sparkling Tyrrhenian waters, the landscape becomes more sparce and the olive trees more frequent as one turns south and heads towards the Mediterranean coast. The farm, west of Menfi, overlooks the sea and the Belice valley, home to the lauded Nocellara del Belice olives.

The farm is full of wild and cultivated olive trees, lemon trees and aromatic herbs. Here they have been producing olive oil for hundreds of years. Natalia’s father took us to the old farmhouse and buildings, still standing, and showed us the old stone press which had been turned by donkeys.

Natalia recalls clear childhood memories of weighing the olives in the fields with her grandfather, to share half with the farmers. In those days the olives were sent to the local mill for pressing. Some of the oil was kept for personal consumption, but most was sold in bulk.

Natalia was working as a journalist in London when she read about The Oil Merchant and bought us a bottle of deep green oil. The first taste of it we still remember to this day. Encouraged by the reception she was able to persuade her father to install an oil press at the farm. In 1991 they started pressing and bottling the oil themselves.

Three varieties of olive trees are grown across the farm: Cerasuola, Biancolila and Nocellara. They grow in harmony across the farm, are picked by hand and, unusually, are pressed together to create this unique and delicious blend of house oil.

In November 1993 Vogue wrote:

‘In June this year history was made. The Orciolo d’Oro was awarded for the best extra-virgin olive oil in Italy and the oil was Sicilian. Until a few years back, when the Ravida family began to bottle their olive oil, Sicilian oils were all but disregarded.’

Natalia saw this as an opportunity to become an ambassador, not only for the family’s oil, but also for the Sicilian cuisine. She first hosted cooking classes at the family home, Villa Ravida, in Menfi, where the participants seemed to be as fascinated by her mother’s home cooking as they were by the recipes of the famous chef who was the course leader. This inspired Natalia to write her first cookery book, The Seasons of Sicily, published in 2008. In it she writes “The variety of ways in which the same simple ingredients are used highlights the creativity of Sicilian cuisine”. Unsurprisingly, the book encourages the use of extra virgin olive oil, especially that produced by Ravida!