Fat Gold – Kathryn Tomajan and Robin Sloan
#031- Today we speak with Kathryn Tomajan and Robin Sloan from Fat Gold Olive Oil. Launched in 2017, Fat Gold is an Oakland based small batch producer of California Extra Virgin Olive Oil. They source really interesting olives from all over the state, turning them into unique special olive oils.
“We like to think of it as an urban olive oil company, tying agriculture to the cities was a really important part of our origin story”.
After working in the food industry for a while, Kathryn went to Italy to attend a masters program focused on food production in 2011 – she calls it the “Hogwarts of Food”. That is where she fell in love and obsessed with olive oil.
“I remember very vividly tasting olive oil with a very well known high end and fancy producer in Tuscany Italy and he was teaching my masters degree class about olive oil and the first one he had us try – we all kind of shook our heads and said – yeah that tastes like the olive oil I know. He’s like ‘that’s rancid. It’s completely spoiled. Let’s teach you about olive oil.’ I thought of myself as a Foodie. I thought I knew my stuff. I learned I knew absolutely nothing about this product.”
They remain inspired by the food production in West Oakland, Emeryville, and West Berkeley. Instead of pretending to be in Italy or Napa, Robin says they embrace the industrial, practical and straightforward sensibilities of Oakland and the East Bay. They like to invite people in and remain accessible.
Be sure to listen to the whole interview – Kathryn and Robin tell us how to identify real extra virgin olive oil that is grown, harvested, and produced in California on our grocery shelves.
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