ABOUT ME
Hi, I’m
Mazen
I am Mazen Assaf. I've been obsessed with olive oil since I was a child. Growing up in Lebanon, olive oil was such a big part of my culture. Back home, no one really bought olive oil at the supermarket. You would always have a distant relative gift it to you every year from the fruit of their crop.
When I was 9 years old, I traveled to Portugal with my dad, and tasted an olive oil that was completely different to what we had back home in Lebanon. In that moment, I discovered that olive oil is a craft.
There are so many olive varieties around the world, and each one gives you a different tasting oil.
PASSION GROWING
From Obsession
To Expertise.
As time went on, my obsession turned into expertise. At the age of 17, I moved to America. Soon after, I realized how overly commodified olive oil was. And I was determined to change that.
Supermarket shelves were flooded with low quality oils, labelled extra virgin, and bottled in fancy looking bottles with Italian branding. A commodified rancid blend — the exact opposite of what I grew up with.
I really wanted to change that — so much so that I became an olive oil sommelier on a mission to empower the olive oil renaissance.
PRESENT
Turning A Commodity
Into A Craft.
Today, I am proud to have worked with some of the best Michelin chefs in the world, stocked my products at dream outlets like Harrods, lectured at the world’s most renowned culinary institute - Le Cordon Bleu, and participated as a judge on international olive oil competitions.
My expertise in olive oil has empowered me to launch this brand, turning a commodity into a craft. As more people are beginning to taste craft olive oil, I believe we are in the early days of the industry's renaissance.
And my mission, as The Olive Oil Guy, is to enable this renaissance.
