A few things I’ve learned running an olive oil competition

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 or links to the winners’ websites, and little 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.