Today we want to present you an emblematic place of Madrid, absolute reference of the sector of extra Spanish virgin olive oil. It is the Fundación Patrimonio Comunal Olivarero, a place that every lover or olive oil enthusiast has an obligation to know.
With more than 50 years of life, located in a privileged environment of the capital, they strive every day to get a little closer to the culture of one of our most precious treasures.
A non-profit organization, subject to the protectorate of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment, which, among many other purposes of general interest, collaborates with public administrations, promotes and subsidizes research work in the olive sector and the industrial use of oil, collaborates with studies on the therapeutic advantages of olive oil, organizes and participates in seminars , exhibitions, fairs, congresses, and endless events that are well worth highlighting.
We want to look in a special way at its inimitable Store-Exhibition, located in the street of Mejía Lequerica, between Alonso Martínez and the emblematic neighborhood of Chueca, which since the 60s has been carrying out a spectacular task of promoting Spanish olive oil, and serving as a showcase of hundreds of brands that, every day, seek to make a hole in an increasingly competitive market , where quality and image have a specific determining weight.
More than 230 oil brands represented, originating from each of the corners of the Spanish geography, perfectly structured, responding rigorously to its denomination of origin. Approximately 1000 references, covering all kinds of formats, from the miniature to the largest formats for home use. Classic formats, innovative designs, gift boxes, tasting boxes, sets designed for tourists, in short, a wide range of possibilities from which to choose the oil that best suits our taste.
In command, we meet Pedro Javier Rodrigo, the “Wikipedia” of Spanish olive oil. With two decades of knowledge behind him, listening to him is a real pleasure. He knows every D.O. every variety of olives, their origins, their taste, their characteristics, the olive mills, the cooperatives… We can ask you for a specific “coupage” so that it immediately provides you with those oils that meet your demand. Sometimes, you just have to tell it what use you’re going to give to your purchase, because it will offer you as many alternatives as possible.
The incredible diversity of their audience is striking: There are those people who remember with longing the times, almost in black and white, from those who came to buy their “litre” of oil to cook, and that today, so many years later, continue to visit it with the same purpose as then: “Who has seen it and who sees it” comment, as they approach you and detail a story or anecdote of the store or anecdote of the store , which they still resist forgetting today.
It is easy to hear from another customer asking about the latest oils awarded by the Ministry of Agriculture, knowing that they are in the right place. Tourists, map in hand, eager to incorporate into your luggage the most typical present of the spurlands. The taste is not decisive, surely many do not know the endless amount of alternatives available to them, but in their case, they need a packaging flashy enough to delight the person who will receive it.
Others are delighted to have a place where I can comment or discuss their culinary hobbies, or just test the knowledge that every day is acquiring: “On my last visit I took an arbequino oil, today maybe I will take something more intense to try….”
We wanted to make a special mention for an entity and some people who have done so much for this sector, without which, probably, we would still be a long way from reaching the levels of knowledge that fortunately we have today. Not only in Spain, where we still have a lot to learn, but also far from our borders, we can see how little by little the culture of olive oil scales positions and is installed with resoundingness as one of the basic ingredients in all kinds of cuisine.
So, from here, all we can say is: “Thank you very much Patrimonio”.
With Pedro Rodrigo of Fundación Patrimonio Comunal