Last year marked a period of deciding, accepting and finally embracing and vacating my beloved Railway Voyager Arch, Oliveology’s first proper home and headquarters since 2013 (after initially storing olive oil and olives in my garage for the first 4 years!). It was a long process and the end of a journey that created so many amazing memories and was so hard to let go of.
Voyager allowed me to express my culinary creativity, and gave me the space to try so many ideas, to invite so many of you and open our doors and our hearts, sharing our love for Greek food, traditions, culture and Greek hospitality. We did that through our supper clubs, our wine tastings, and cooking workshops -we even created a sailing trip in the Greek Islands at some point! We wanted to bring people together and share the same feeling many of you have experienced during your Greek holidays: the flavours and conversations and the joy of gathering around the table in a Greek taverna, by the sea, just coming together and connecting with others with no pressure of time or plans. These 12 years have given me incredible memories that I will cherish forever as they are the cornerstone and foundation of Oliveology’s journey.
But after 12 years it was time to reassess my goals, refocus my energy and passion, and to reclaim more simplicity in my life and workspace aiming towards more intentional and sustainable growth for myself, my team, and the business as a whole. This involved a lot of decluttering, shrinking, and letting go of what no longer aligned with our values, so we could transition from 2000 sq ft to 1290 sq ft. This included changes in our product range, as we have been working over the last couple of years only supplying real food, with few ingredients and working towards labelling ourselves as a 100% non-UPF grocery shop. This also meant saying goodbye to our enormous commercial kitchen, the epicentre of so many food gatherings, tastings and cooking workshops. But more food gatherings are now ahead of us- watch this space!
So here we are today, celebrating our 17th birthday in our new Unit 3, at Spa Arch Lane, still at our beloved Spa Terminus. We could not leave this amazing community of like-minded food professionals and suppliers who are passionate for quality produce. It took us more than 4 months to make our new Unit feel like home, but now I can confidently say that I feel more positive than ever. This transition is meant to be the continuation and unfolding of the next chapter for us at Oliveology. There is still a lot to work on and improve, but the hard part is done and we are really looking forward to continuing our journey from this brand new space with a clear and refreshed mind and perspective!
I will soon be heading to the motherland, to my beloved village in the Peloponnese, to switch off, rest, reset and reflect on the next part of this fascinating food journey!
Follow me at #oliveologyholidays for slow taverna meals and beach nature shots.
Happy Summer to all of you!
Μαριάννα
