Are you a Sacramento-area teen who likes olives? I have great news for you
The UC Davis Olive Center is working to benevolently indoctrinate the next generation of olive enthusiasts with a two-day class taught by a world-renowned Greek chef and an “Iron Chef America” contestant. Spots are still open for the sessions on Aug. 11 and 12 for “olive-curious youth.”
“Once you learn about olives, it absorbs you,” said Olive Center executive director and olivangelist Javier Fernandez Salvador. “Our idea here was like, ‘OK, we need to get you started as youth.’”
The center accepts applications from 12- to 17-year-old youths and college students; there are also limited spaces for regular old adults.
Chefs Maria Loi and Jehangir Mehta will teach the fundamentals of olives and olive oils. Loi is a cookbook author and restaurateur from Greece; Mehta, who has lost several times (sorry!) on various iterations of the reality competition “Iron Chef,” is also a cookbook author and restaurateur. Both are donating their time because, as Fernandez Salvador put it, “They believe in olives.”
The Olive Center at UC Davis typically offers classes geared toward professional olive growers, retail workers and adult olive oil enthusiasts; this is their first class aimed at young people. Registration is $225, but scholarships are available thanks to generous donations from — yes, this is real — big olive.
The curriculum will include olive oil sensory evaluation (students will learn how to tell whether the olives were left in the hot sun for too long after they were harvested, leading to a defect in their scent), olive oil food pairings (students learn which olive oils pair best with which stinky cheeses) and an olive oil cooking class. Participants will also harvest foods from a nearby garden and use them to make a very fresh meal.
Fernandez Salvador offered a free example of something that will be taught in the class:
“A pairing that I love — people never have tried it, and then they try it, and they’re like, ‘Oh my god, you’ve changed my life’ — is vanilla ice cream, but vanilla bean ice cream, and a very strong Coratina,” Fernandez Salvador said. “Oof. That produces a mixture that is fantastic.”
Whether the rest of the class offerings will change your life remains to be seen.
How to sign up: Prospective students can find a link to register at olivecenter.ucdavis.edu/events. Information about scholarships is available at registration.ucdavis.edu/Item/Details/845.
