We are proud to announce the addition of Jennifer Thornton, Olive Oil Specialist, to The Olive Tap’s team of olive oil and vinegar industry experts. Jennifer will be a significant contributor to The Olive Tap’s ongoing Consumer Education Programs. Please watch out for Jennifer’s insight and contributions to our Blog, Facebook and Twitter.
Rick Petrocelly
Owner of The Olive Tap
Bio from Jennifer Thornton
Olive Oil Specialist
The Olive Tap
American by birth, Sicilian by blood, and Provençal at heart: Jennifer developed her passion for olive oil while living in Aix-en-Provence, France in 2007. It was in the nearby village of Les Baux that she had her first taste of this liquid gold…an experience that would change her life. The pursuit of this new found olive passion led her on an unimaginable adventure. Jennifer spent years working at the side of the “Queen of Olive Oil” (Christine Cheylan, owner of Château Virant) in France, including harvesting, milling, blending and traveling throughout Europe for EVOO classes and conferences. From these invaluable formative years, Jennifer has gone on to participate in olive milling seasons with the most incredible and inspiring producers in Provence, Sicily, Spain, and California (The Olive Center at UC Davis). She has travelled the Mediterranean learning all she can about this sacred fruit, allowing her to be part of the national French olive oil competition’s jury as well as one of the judges of the most prestigious international olive oil competition in Canada. Recruited by Olivier Baussan, founder of L’Occitane and Olivier & Co, Jennifer spent two years in Paris working with his new brand Première Pression Provence. The combination of olive oil and culinary bliss brought her to the Top 100 of France’s first season and America’s fourth season of MasterChef, where she acquired the name “Olive Oil Princess”.