Travels and Tastes

CastelineS Olive Oil: A Blend of the Pure and the Technical Image

CastelineS Olive Oil: A Blend of the Pure and the Technical

“No one born in Provence can live without the scents of the garrigue scrubland, the gusting Mistral, the sun’s caress and the magic of the olive trees that shaped the local landscape.” –Catherine and Jean-Benoît Hugues, CastelaS, Baux de Provence Jean-Benoît Hugues’ admiration and deep respect for the centuries-old olive trees in Provence, France turned…

All in the Name of Love (and Art): Castello di Ama Image

All in the Name of Love (and Art): Castello di Ama

“My oldest memory is when as a student I came here for the olive harvest. The purity and fragrance of the smell of the EVOO just after the pressing in our mill is so unique and it still makes me very happy.” -Lorenza Sebasti, CEO and Managing Director of Castello di Ama Nestled in the bucolic…

Piedmont Cheeses from Cascina Fontanacervo Image

Piedmont Cheeses from Cascina Fontanacervo

“My love for the Alps is so great… This passion for the mountains was handed down to me when I was just 12 years old, by an old school teacher of mine… who loved to organize trips and excursions in the open air to let us students discover the magic of the mountains” –Giovanni Crivello,…

Introducing Italian Rice from Cascina Oschiena! Image

Introducing Italian Rice from Cascina Oschiena!

“When the paddy field is flooded, especially in the spring, it is then that the rice landscape offers its most spectacular aspect: the reflections of the sky, trees, mountains and farmhouses create optical effects as in a mirror, the farmhouses themselves look like islands in a beautiful lagoon.” –Alice Cerutti, of Cascina Oschiena I’m right…

Meet Lydia, the Cheese Maven! Image

Meet Lydia, the Cheese Maven!

“I was afforded lots of unique experiences and invitations and as a rule I always just said yes.” — Lydia Burns, founder of Savvy Squirrel Consulting (accredited cheese courses) Consulting with the Rogers Collection team as self-titled Cheese Maven for Education & Outreach, a quirky but apt title (maven means ‘connoisseur’ or ‘expert’) that steers…

Meet Leska, our Staff Writer! Image

Meet Leska, our Staff Writer!

Meet Leska, our Staff Writer! As the re-opening date of June 8th came closer and closer, my anxiety increased. What would something I had done for so many years now look like after an unprecedented pandemic? Prior to COVID, I had already felt a lack of enthusiasm for my job. And now, the thought of…

Tomatoes from Gentile: Summer in a Jar! Image

Tomatoes from Gentile: Summer in a Jar!

“Tomatoes for us in the south (of Italy) mean summer. When we see fresh tomatoes at the local store, it means summer is here, the beach, friends, the panino caprese with mozzarella that we take to the beach…and caponata with fresh tomatoes, tuna, olives and red onions… summer mode: ON.” —Giuliana Galati, Export Manager for…

Our Collection of Olive Oils Image

Our Collection of Olive Oils

“Working there [in the olive grove] is a ‘lesson in humility….’ How many generations have walked among those trees? And how many will walk there after me?’” —The Art of Eating, a quote by Jean-Benoit Hugues, producer of CastelineS extra virgin olive oil in Provence, France. For many of us around the world, summer is…

Pio Tosini: Our Interview with Giovanni Bianchi Image

Pio Tosini: Our Interview with Giovanni Bianchi

“The company is 115 years old and sometimes you literally feel the weight, the call, and the challenge of those who ran the company before us,” says Giovanni Bianchi, grandson to Pio Tosini, who currently runs the family business along with his cousin, also grandson to Pio, Nicola Tosini.   Recently, Giovanni and I conducted an…