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March 17 Culinary Event Provides User's Manual for Cretan Olive Oil
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“The students from the University of Gastronomic Sciences (of Italy) had the rare opportunity to learn how olive oil is used in the Cretan cuisine and to taste traditional dishes The food presented were representative of the diet that the people of Crete had back in the 60’s when they had the lowest heart disease rates, the highest intake of olive oil (almost all dishes have olive oil as their main ingredient), and the highest life expectancy in the world.”
By Elena Paravantes RD Olive Oil Times Health Editor | Reporting from Athens
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" there's nothing mainstream about Astrikas Estate. Not only does Biolea have a great story, but it's a truly great olive oil, too. The flavor is buttery and herbaceous, with a nice hint of bitterness and a peppery finish. It's lighter than most Greek olive oils, and great for drizzling over salad greens or for dipping bread." |
"Tom" Colicchio is an American celebrity chef. Colicchio is the recipient of five James Beard Foundation Medals for cooking accomplishments.He has been the head judge on every season of the show TOP SHEF and has been a featured chef on Great Shefs Television.
November 2, 2011
BIOLEA's new stone milled & cold pressed organic olive oil is running !!!  
November 2, 2011
The "Olive Odyssey" expedition made a stopover in Chania to visit Biolea and record the revived - age old method - of stone milling and cold pressing olive oil. The expedition is undertaking a 3,500 km voyage by small boat from Spain to the Middle East, retracing the trading routes of early seafaring merchants to explore the lands sculpted by the olive tree and uncover how the olive first came to those shores. This National Geographic sponsored expedition, taking place from August to December 201, is led by bestselling authors Julie Angus and Colin Angus and will be the subject of a book and documentary. 
 
November 2, 2011
Participating scientists from the international conferance OLIVEBIOTEQ 2011, which is organized by the Institute of Olive and Subtropical Plants of Chania, visited Biolea where the revived traditional method of stone milling and cold pressing was presented by Biolea's Yiorgos Dimitriadis.
November 1, 2011
The Executive Director of the International Olive Oil Council Mr. Jean-Louis Barjol, escorted by the director of the Institute of Olive and Subtropical Plants of Chania Dr. Chartzoulakis, visited Biolea's installations and was guided through the revived traditional stone milling and cold pressing olive oil production method by Biolea's Yiorgos Dimitriadis.
September 21 2011
Top officials from CAF, SHENZHOU OLIVE DEV. CO. Mr. YU, NING Ms. MA, CHENGSHENG and Mr. LI, JINHUA escorted by Dr. J. Metzidakis of the NAGREF Institute of Chania visited Biolea and were introduced to the revived traditional stone milled and cold pressed production method and tasted Biolea products. 
September 7 to 9th.
Sanlih Television Co, TV Crew from Taiwan visited Crete to report on tourism and the Cretan Diet. During their stay they visited our famous touristic destinations across the island and reported on the basic pillars of Cretan Diet ingredients: bread baked in wood fired oven, stone milled & cold pressed olive oil and wine. |
 
Introduction to Cretan cooking by the executive chef of five star resort hotel "MINOA PALACE", Yianis Tsivourakis
 Grape harvest, wine making and tasting at the Manousakis "NOSTOS" estate
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Baking bread in wood fired oven at the ksilofourno in Chania
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BIOLEA's stone milled & first cold pressed organic olive oil tasting at Astrikas Estate
| Olive Oils at Savantes (Melb) Saturday, 02 July 2011 |
In July Extra Virgin Olive Oil Savantes returned to Melbourne, Australia. Participants in the program were able to taste a range of extra virgin olive oils from around the world, including award winning oils from Europe and California. |
Participant and Simon Fields comments on Biolea stone milled & cold pressed extra virgin olive oil:
Brand : Biolea
Packaging: Standard bottle with attractive label Style: Delicate
Flavour: Aroma of dry herbs and dry figs. Subtle flavours and a little bitterness on the palate with a nutty finish typical of koreneiki olives from Greece . Well balanced
Commercial evaluation (for Australia ): This style was new to most participants and would have a market amongst more discerning olive oil users and chefs who use a lot of fish and subtle tastes in their menus. There are very few olive oils of this style produced and/or marketed in Australia , New Zealand , Canada and South Africa .
July 3 2011
The General Manager of First International Corporation - the new importer / distributor of Biolea in Japan - Miss.Etsuko Yoshida, presents Biolea and its products to the Japanese media. .jpg)
June 1, 2011
An important culinary publication in Greece, "The Gastronomist", presented its annual quality awards for 2011. Biolea was given an award for olive oil quality, whichwas presented by the Director of the Institute for Olive Tree & Subtropical Plants of Chania, Dr. Kon. Chartzoulakis to Biolea's director Yiorgos Dimitriadis.
 image source:Tthe Gastronomist
April 1, 2011
Italian University of Gastronomic Sciences (SLOW FOOD) visits Biolea
The students of Università degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche of Italy during their visit, were introduced to Biolea's traditional production methods: stone milled and cold pressed organic olive oil. A demonstration of authentic Cretan Diet dishes was held for the students by Maich's Chef, Yiannis Apostolakis, president of the Cretan Gastronomy Network and Yiannis Tsivourakis, Executive Chef of Minoa Palace Hotel. 
 
............................................Chefs, Yiannis Apostolakis and Yiannis Tsivourakis during their demonstration December 12, 2010
Maich's Chef, Yiannis Apostolakis, president of the Cretan Gastronomy Network, comments on the quality of Cretan olive oil production to Greece's prime minister, George Papandreou, who is holding a bottle of Biolea stone milled & cold pressed, organic olive oil. during his visit to Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania.
image source:
www.papandreou.gr
December 1, 2010
Journalists and food writers from eight countries visit Biolea
Journalists from eight countries are on a three-day visit to Crete designed to showcase the importance of Cretan olive oil production to the world olive oil market ( The island of Crete produces 5% of the world production of olive oil, 85% of which is extra virgin.) The program was funded by the International Olive Oil Council, the Institute for Olive Tree and Subtropical plants of Chania, and Cretan Quality Agreement.  
Our visitors arrived when the factory was in production. They observed the traditional production method and tasted our stone milled & cold pressed organic olive oil " fresh off the press". George Dimitriadis presented Biolea and the organoleptic properties of its products. The following journalists were present: Susan Elizabeth Thompson from the Toronto Star, Canada, Christine Masson, writing for Cuisine Actuelle and Cuisine Gourmande magazines, France, Kersten Wetenkamp from Der Feinschmecker, Germany, Jun Ye from China Media Group, Maryam Reshi writing for Times of India, Crest newspaper and Economic Times Travel, India, Robert Parker freelance writer for Times Online, Savour, The Guild of Food Writers Magazine, etc., in the UK, Irina Mosolova chief Editor for Shkola Gastronoma and Kolletsia Reseptov magazines, Russia, Aikaterina Drosou, Chief Editor of Hotel & Restaurant, Greece, and Curtis Cord, Chief editor of the Olive Oil Times, USA.
25. 08. 2010 : Visit from World Centre of Excellence for Destinations .
Dr. Cesar Castaneda, Director of Operations for the " World Centre Of Excellence for Destinations" escorted by Mr. Manolis Psarros from the Greek chapter of the World Tourist Organization visited BIOLEA within the scope of the Program for Excellence in Destinations for the island of Crete. The visitors were guided through Biolea's installations and introduced to the traditional method of producing olive oil. It was pointed out that olive oil production is a heritage of the Cretan people that must be promoted.
USA SAVEUR MAGZINE May issue 2010
Biolea's Stone Milled and Cold Pressed Organic olive oil earned the appreciation of Saveur magazine food editors and established a Greek presence amongst the 11 best olive oils of the world.
... "Greek oils tend to lie at the more muscular end of the flavor spectrum. We love the deep green, unfiltered Astrikas Estate Biolea ($25) , made from koroneiki olives on the Greek island of Crete, for its lingering finish of wild bitter greens and tomato vines." |
