Happy New Year everyone!
The new year is now beginning. All of us at Oliveology are feeling optimistic, dare I say excited for the new year, and the new decade that is upon us. Before we welcome the new year, with all of our hopes and dreams for the future, we always feel like saying a proper goodbye to the last year, and to the last decade.
2019 was a very memorable year for all of us at Oliveology.
It was our 10-year anniversary and a chance for us to reflect on how far we’ve come, since our first little stall at Borough Market. We felt proud thinking that Oliveology has been welcomed and loved by so many of you. We felt excited about all the wonderful products that we have managed to bring to London for all of you, ingredients ranging from extra virgin olive oils to mature artisanal Greek cheeses and organic pulses, and from wild herbs to raw honey and fragrant truffle products. Foods that for some mean home and for others mark the beginning of a new culinary adventure. And Greek wines, ah, the last decade has been transformative for the Greek wine industry, with some very memorable wines reaching our shop (treat yourself to this, it was life-changing for me).
Last year we also got our first 3-star Great Taste Award. We won’t lie, we got a bit emotional. It’s not every day that one’s efforts are recognised in such a way. Our 17°C organic extra virgin olive oil really made us proud!
Thinking back to 2019, we felt most grateful for the people that surrounded us. For the Oliveology team that grew, with new members joining us at the shop, and older team members running various amazing projects. For the amazing producers that have been supporting us and with whom we share so many things, mostly a passion for what we do. We are happy to enter into the new decade with all of them.
In 2019, our Warehouse at Bermondsey opened up again for all! Our ‘home’ now includes the entire railway arch, with our shop open on Saturdays, a fully-equipped professional kitchen and many, many cooking workshops, wine tastings and dinner experiences. We couldn’t feel more excited about these new endeavours and our collaborations with powerful, female voices: chefs, wine experts, food anthropologists, home cooks, mothers.
We also launched our Oliveology Holidays, two fascinating gastronomic trips for next summer. So join us, as we transfer our culinary experience while sailing around the Ionian Islands, and while vacationing in a small village in rural Crete.
Yes, now is the time to reflect on the last year and the last decade, to embrace any troubles we’ve had and celebrate all the wonderful moments. To pause and remember where we were. To think of where we want to go. So for those of you who, like us, are making plans for 2020, just remember: Follow your passion and craft new dreams. It is a new year after all. And a new decade.
Happy 2020 to all!
