In 2012, the Los Angeles International Olive Oil Competition was the largest olive oil quality contest around, with some 400 entries.

The annual results were uploaded to the organization’s website on a static PDF. There was no information about the producers, no links to the winners’ websites, no educational content. And it hasn’t changed since.

I thought it could be done better so, in 2013, we held the first NYIOOC at the International Culinary Center in New York with 702 entries – the most ever for an olive oil competition.

From the start, the aim was to recognize, celebrate and publicize those who manage to craft high-quality olive oils. In other words, to provide value to the winning producers. After all, getting an award is pointless if no one knows about it.

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