Meet Anita
I was born in Athens and I feel very lucky and proud to be Greek. The beauty of Greece is the biggest source of wellness for me.
I come from an olive oil-producing family from Kalamata and since I can remember myself, I was playing around & climbing on some of the millions of olive trees of the Messinian land playing, participating in the harvest, and enjoying my family’s fresh olive oil every year. When I grew up it came naturally for me to study agronomy. My great passion for olive oil and gastronomy led me to seek deeper knowledge and become a professional Olive Oil Taster in 2012. Later on, I was granted a scholarship by the International Olive Council (IOC) to attend the most prestigious olive oil tasting course at the University of Jaen in Spain (UJA), from which I hold the title of Expert in Virgin Olive Oil Tasting. I have been trained under top Spanish olive oil tasters & oleologists such as Marino Uceda, Maria Paz Aguilera, Hipolito Garcia Toledo, and many more.
After a successful career in multinational companies for 20 years, my life came to a point where it needed a radical change.
At the beginning of 2018, I quit my job (Global Training Manager in APIVITA Natural Cosmetics) moved to Mykonos, following my fiancé and my need to live a more simple, healthy life away from the big city's stress. Being always passionate about olive oil, gastronomy & healthy living, deep inside I always knew that one day I would work with these on a full-time basis. And also, I had a dream!
To create a company that will make an impact on people's lives. To teach, coach and increase awareness of consuming great quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil and inspiring people to adopt a holistic, proactive approach to their health, beauty & wellness.
In late 2018 I founded Mykonos Olive Oil Tasting, an educational & consulting company based in Mykonos island in Greece, delivering seminars, workshops, and webinars on Olive Oil Tasting, Olive Oil Gastronomy, Mediterranean Diet, Holistic Health, Beauty & Wellness to foreign visitors & locals but also consumers, kids, producers, wholesalers, and culinary professionals all over Greece and abroad.
My Mission
To share my knowledge & experience on the value, quality, wholesomeness, right selection, multiple uses and health benefits of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Mediterranean Diet, creating their ambassadors in various parts of the world.
My Vision
To help make a change in the olive oil industry. If we want to change the future of olive oil globally, we must focus on training. Training of the producer, the mill master, the merchant, the seller in the store, the Chef and the restaurant owner, the adult consumer but also the children because children are the adult consumers of the future.
I am a Member of the Italian Association of Olive Oil Tasters (ONAOO), the Spanish Olive Oil Gastronomy Academy, the FILAIOS Club of Olive Oil Friends, the International Coach Federation, and the European Lifestyle Medicine Organization.
I participate as a judge in various International Olive Oil Competitions.
I am the host of the first Olive Oil Podcast in Greece, called Elaias elaion on pod.gr
