Who: Owners and founders Jacqui Henry and Rob Crifo
Where: Kialla West, City of Greater Shepparton, Yorta Yorta Country
Jacqui, your partner, Rob Crifo, is a chef.
Rob was head chef at Cellar 47, a well-known restaurant in Shepparton. Now at Greendale Grove Olive Shop, Rob has developed a range of preserves and condiments based on the olive oil we press and our table olives. He makes a delicious black olive tapenade and a green olive tapenade with capers and anchovies. We buy honey from a local beekeeper and blend that with our extra-virgin olive oil and mustard for our redgum honey mustard seed dressing. He also makes red onion chilli jam and sweet balsamic reduction.
Tell us about your olive oil.
We mainly grow Kalamata olives, which produce a rich, buttery, and fragrant oil, and frantoio, which is fresh and peppery. We harvest them and send them straight to the processor, who is only 10 minutes away, as soon as the fruit is off the tree. Fresh fruit means quality oil. We bottle it in 250ml and 500ml bottles, three-litre tins, and 10- and 20-litre drums for food service and our large customer base of European-born extra-virgin olive oil lovers. We also have a range of flavoured oils.
And the table olives?
Good things take time, and we use the natural lactic acid fermentation method, which takes 12 to 18 months.
How do we get your products?
Come and see us at 7230 Goulburn Valley Highway, Kialla West, have a chat, see the olive grove, walk around the olive trees, and buy direct. We also deliver our large-format drums to select customers. olivehouse.com.au.