Maria Katsouli, Director at Athena International Olive Oil Competition discusses about its goals and how Greek olive oil can move forward.
“What matters to me is for Greek olive oil to move forward”
Interview curation: Katerina Karsioti
ATHENA is an exceptionally growing international olive oil competition and the only one of its kind held in Greece. It is held every year in a different olive producing region of Greece with an international jury of expert olive oil testers from more than 12 countries.
IOOC ATHENS highlights the importance of competition in Greece, the ancient homeland of the olive tree and the birthplace of noble competition, which embodies the Olympic ideal. Greece ranks 3rd worldwide in olive oil production and is by far No.1 in per capita consumption. In addition, it has the highest percentage of extra virgin olive oil in relation to its total production and the highest percentage of arable land dedicated to olive cultivation.
Primary goals of ATHENA IOOC
- Promotion of high quality EVOOS both in Greece and internationally
- Contribution to the production and continuous improvement of olive oils of exceptional quality, high standards of olive producing countries and regions, as well as rare olive varieties.
- Encouraging the consumption of olive oil as a nutritious and healthy product of great cultural value worth to play a prominent role in fine cuisine.
- Presentation of the typical characteristics of each olive oil as well as trends in the olive oil industry for both experts and consumers to raise awareness of global olive oil production.
- To provide assistance to the consumers in order to select the best olive oils in the world thanks to the quality certification provided by the “ATHENA” seal on all award-winning bottles.
ATHIOOC(Athena International Olive Oil Competition) has already been held in Sitia (2022), Lesvos (2021), Spata (2020), Nafplio (2019), Delphi (2018), Pylos (2017) and Athens (2016). This year in its 8th edition, the ATHENA International Olive Oil Competition was hosted from 4 – 6 May 2023 in Kavala.
Athena International Olive Oil Competition…An effective institution that takes olive oil one step further?
Maria Katsouli: Undoubtedly yes, and I’m glad because that was also the primary goal of the event. As a global institution, it gives added value and prestige to each award-winning olive oil and most certainly enables country’s extroversion, wherefore as a Greek I am foremost interested in Greek olive oil moving forward.
And yes, the organisation, which is an international institution, has succeeded in driving olive oil forward, in terms of quality and communication!
Qualitatively, as through the statistics the upward trend of the olive oils that systematically participate in the Athena organisation is recorded in practice.
Regarding communication, we earnestly promote the overall image of the competition with an emphasis on evaluation standards and the strictly professional and reliable level of the organisation, resulting in olive oil markets and judges now ranking Athena as one of the 3 most important international competitions.
Is it an important “means” of promoting the Greek producer in foreign markets?
Maria Katsouli: Every competitive process, with whatever result, is a means of development and brings the olive oil one step closer to the international market, as long as the competitor handles the result properly.
Obtaining an award is a sign of strong quality certification and is unarguably an important communication tool in foreign markets, which follow the competitions and know the specifications of each organisation. The next key is the consistency of the olive oil in the new awards and of course patience and persistence as no door opens by itself.
How many extra virgin olive oil samples are collected at each event and how many judges are there?
Maria Katsouli: The increase in both the number of countries and olive oils positively surprises me every year as from the 1st year of the event in 2016, with a total of 256 samples from 10 countries, they reached 565 from 23 countries in 2022 (7th edition). The number of jury members depends on the total number of samples and this, as with the purpose of greater reliability of the result, Athena has set 2 basic conditions in the evaluation process and the number of judges.
Firstly, olive oil tastings are only held in the morning hours, with a maximum of 35 samples per day and a minimum number of judges of 5 people in each panel group, so almost every year the number of judges increases.
According to these parameters, ATHENA IOOC is the only international competition that, in proportion to the total sample, acquires the largest panel of judges. So, for example, from the 1st event with 20 judges, in 2022 it reached 35 judges for 564 olive oils, when for example other competitions with 1,100 samples have a 30-member panel of judges.
In the last few years we observe with particular joy an “explosion” of new Greek brands making their debut! Has Greek olive oil really turned over a new leaf…has it become more competitive?
Maria Katsouli: It’s really gratifying to see this explosion of new labels. In recent years Greek olive oil has really been upgraded and I am sure that this will continue. After all, the only way for our country to cope with the fierce international competition that follows is to upgrade the quality of its olive oil, there is no other way to success!
In addition, how many olive varieties do we find in Greece and which of them can be used more easily in a professional kitchen?
Maria Katsouli: Greece, a country identified with the olive tree, has a treasure trove of native varieties that unfortunately has not been fully mapped. Based on the literature, approximately 130 varieties have been recorded, with the 30 being the most well-known and the absolute star of them all Koroneiki.
The positive thing is that in recent years there has been a bold interest in the revival of “forgotten” varieties in many regions and I am sure that in the future this will help Greek olive oil and the pressure of competition even more.
Regarding food, extra virgin olive oils, of any flavor intensity or variety, can be used in a professional kitchen and bring out the flavor richness of a dish, as long as we know the flavor characteristics of olive oil.
Of course, it’s a fact that milder olive oils are easier to use, and that’s probably why chefs prefer them.
I am convinced that restaurants will switch to using more olive oil options than the majority use today. It takes patience and persistence. The more chefs are trained in taste organoleptics, the more they will realise the pluralism of the taste of olive oil and its importance in giving prominence to the deliciousness that olive oil offers to their dishes.
In the competition we “strive” in this area, educating and raising awareness among chefs and creating an Olive Oil List. That is why at each event we invite some chefs as guest chef testers alongside the judges during the evaluation of the olive oils, without of course calculating their grading.
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