Dorset based Olives et Al first began in 1993 following months of travel around the Mediterranean where the team fell in love with the local cuisine and began collecting recipes in a bid to recapture the essence of where they had been when they returned back home.
I was extremely excited when I got the chance to sample three of their varieties as my love of olives is also born from my love of travel and Greek Mediterranean food.
The Classic Pitted Chilli and Garlic Green and Kalamata Olives were the first to try. The extra virgin olive oil with chilli and paprika didn’t disappoint as it had a lovely hint of chilli and the garlic wasn’t too powerful. Warm and spicy and very moreish!
The Sunshine Pitted Rosemary and Garlic Olives were my next choice, these again were in a pouch and in Chiller friendly oil which is great if you like your olives cold and refreshing. The green olives were big and juicy and had a herby taste with a hint of garlic - extremely enjoyable and the oil wasn’t wasted as we dipped fresh bread to savour the lovely refreshing taste!
We now come to what has to be my favourite the Verde Pitted Lemon & Coriander Olives. These were delicious! They were large juicy olives covered in lemon, coriander and garlic olive oil. Whilst eating them I wanted to crack open a bottle of Merlot and sit basking in the sun of a warm Mediterranean country surrounded by white washed buildings and blue skies. These olives needed nothing but fresh dipping bread and would have been great (if they had lasted long enough!) scattered over a fresh green salad.
All three varieties were as good as I had anticipated, they didn’t disappoint. A lot of love and care has gone into these blends to give that authentic Mediterranean taste. Even simply browsing the website of Olives Et Al it is clear to see their love of all Mediterranean food, plus they provide some delicious recipes to try yourself!