BIRSEN CAN PEHLIVAN
Certified olive oil taster and international judge, MSc in olive oil chemistry and technology . Birsen holds MSc degree in Olive Oil Chemistry and Processing Technologies and BSc degree in Food Engineering. She has over 20 years of hands on experience in olive oil production in Turkey with focus on processing technologies. She currently manages the chemical and sensory testing laboratory of Turkey’s top olive oil exporter of 2017. An ONAOO Taster since 2005, Birsen co-instructed in numerous introductory as well as advanced level olive oil tasting trainings throughout Turkey, five of which were conducted in collaboration with ONAOO. Her experience in panels and competitions includes: Aydin Mercantile Exchange -IOC accredited- Tasting Panel/Turkey (Panel member, 2006-2009); Zeytindostu- The Turkish association of olive oil producers- Tasting Panel/Turkey (Panel member, 2006-2015, panel leader 2016-2017); Zeytindostu Extra Virgin Olive Oil Quality Competition/Turkey (Judge, 2009-2017); TerraOlivo/Israel (Judge from 2017); EVO IOOC/Italy (Judge from 2018). Her tasting expertise also spans to wine and she served as judge in Terravino/Israel in 2017. Birsen is a well-networked and trusted figure among Turkish boutique olive oil producers, and is currently supervising the ongoing training and establishment of an independent tasting panel in Istanbul constituted by ONAOO certified olive oil professionals and enthusiasts.

Antonio Giuseppe Lauro

graduated as agronomist, is an international olive oil consultant, educator, journalist and panel leader; assessor of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) since 1995 and an International panel leader since 2003 in compliance with IOC rules.

As agronomist and Marketing & EVOO expert for the ARSAC Calabria, he has participated in many national and international projects related to olive oil chain and quality control.

Since 2003 Dr. Lauro has been teaching courses for professional tasters of EVOO in accordance with IOC/EU laws and was professor in several master courses (national and international).

Lauro has written numerous publications (books, guides, catalogs, etc.) on the EVOO industry and Sensory Analysis.

Invited speaker in the most important international olive oil conferences, has conducted Masterclass, EVOO seminars and tasting sessions in many countries around the world, including Italy and other EU members (France, Greece, Spain), Argentina, Azerbaijan, Brazil, China, Croatia, Israel, Japan, Norway, South Africa, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, USA, etc.. He is instructor in the International Olive Oil School for "Olive Oil Sommelier" in USA (New York, Campbel and San Francisco), Croatia (Postira) and UK (London), organized by Olive Oil Times Education Lab). Is also instructor in a Sensory Assessment of EVOOs and Blending courses in Italy, Greece, Israel, South America, Turkey).

Antonio Giuseppe is founder (President and Panel Leader) of EVO IOOC Italy International Olive Oil Contest (ex D-IOOC) since the first edition (2016), founder of Panel Prim’Olio, recognized – from 2012 - by the Ministry of Agricultural of Italy and co-founder and Panel Leader of TerraOlivo Jerusalem (Israel) since the first edition (2010 – present).

He is also Panel Leader of NYIOOC - New York World Olive Oil Competition (2014 - present), OLIVINUS Mendoza - Argentina (2013 - present), Judge and Panel Leader in JOOP International Olive Oil Prize - Tokyo (2018 - present), Panel Leader in Anatolian IOOC (Turkey) since the first edition (2021) and Panel Leader of COOC (Cretian Olive Oil Competition 2016 - present)

Lauro was judge in Athena IOOC – Greece (2016 - 2018), in OLIVE JAPAN – Tokyo (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016), Panel Leader of  SA Olive Award (South Africa, 2016), Juror of Premio Il Magnifico – Italy (2019), 2012 Extrascape (Italy), Panel Leader of the national competition Sirena d'Oro di Sorrento (2017) and Judge of Concorso Nazionale Ercole Olivario (2005 & 2013).

Dr Lauro is member of the jury of many regional selection, and a frequent panel Leader and member of EVOO competitions since 1995.

Leonardo Castellani
Leonardo R. Castellani (Winemaker) has been the general coordinator of the EVO IOOC competition since its first edition. Coordinator of international wine and spirits and olive oil competitions, Leonardo has been sworn in international wine and spirits competitions since 1997. He is currently the most active general coordinator of samples (olive oils, wines and spirits) in the world and has served as co-director of over 160 international wine competitions and 30 international olive oil competitions.

Eleftheria Germanaki has graduated on Agronomy and currently she is the panel supervisor laboratory of Organoleptic Assessment of A.C.R of Rethymno and generally on Crete. Since 1986 she has been responsible of quality control of virgin oil and other agricultural products (as milk and grape) for the laboratory of A.C.R. In addition, since 2000, she has participated in numerous training seminars regarding the production of olive oil and was the head of the European Schemes on olive oil, organic farming and PDO. She supervised the education programs of farmers on how to produce quality olive oil, as well as supporting them “from field to shop” with environmentally friendly methods. Last but not least, she is a member of the panel of New York (NYIOOC), since its first edition and is a judge in competitions all over Greece. Germanaki considers olive oil a divine product that could “heal” the planet, not only financially, but in general. Olive oil, for a person who, like her, comes from a family of farmers with the tradition of olive oil production, has influenced her entire life, her studies and her passion for his work.

Emmanouil Karpadakis
Born on the island of Crete in Greece, for the last 20 years, he is working in the olive oil sector as a professional in quality olive oil extraction, innovation, and tasting.

Trained by IOC instructors, Emmanouil is a panel member in a certified sensory evaluation laboratory, and in addition, he is judging in International Olive Oil Competitions. Being a certified adult’s instructor and due to his extended knowledge of olive oil-related subjects, he develops and presents In training courses. In parallel for the last ten years, he is a VP of the Cretan Exporters Association.

M. Ángeles Calvo Fandos
M. Angeles Calvo Fandos has graduated in Degree in Veterinary Science at the University of Zaragoza in Food Science and Speciality, Health and Food Technology. She has been manager of Agricultural-Livestock company since 1991. She is part of the Tasting Panel of Olive Oils of Cataluña since its creation in 1997. She’s also panel Leader of the Official Tasting Panel of Olive Oils of Cataluña since 2004. She took part in the training and selection of other panels of olive oil tasting at the national level (Aragon, Toledo, Murcia and Community of Navarre). As well as in the implementation of the ISO 17025 standard for the accreditation of the official tasting panel of Catalonia. She’s a member of the group of experts in sensorial analysis of the IOC (International Olive Council) since 2008. Member of the jury of numerous International Awards of Virgin Olive Oil.


 

Cristina Stribacu
Cristina Stribacu is a certificated olive oil taster and participates in international contests and conferences. She organizes tasting courses for schools, tasters and producers, sharing in this way the importance of EVOO production, consumption and the values of the Mediterranean diet. Her last project is a “Master on Greek Olive Oil Varietals” program organized under the umbrella of the Slow Food chapter of Messinia and in collaboration with an international advisory board. Through this project she aims to support a more sustainable olive oil agriculture, inspire EVOO producers in Greece to preserve olive oil biodiversity by cultivating native varietals and promote the importance of EVOO consumption in our daily diet. Cristina is passionate about nature and the environment. She has studied Italian Language and Art History and her entrepreneurship spirit led her to found an export-oriented Greek EVOO brand focused on super premium quality.

Miciyo Yamada
MIPAF Official Olive Oil Taster, Olive Oil Journalis, Miciyo Yamada was born in Kyoto, Japan. At the age of 18, she transferred to Paris for study. After graduating from the Sorbonne, she moved to Italy and started to work as a journalist. In the year 2008, she launched a magazine on Italian art, culture, food and fashion, and became the editorial director. Now she writes for several Japanese magazines such as ARTE CIBO, Elle Japon and Elle Deco, and also for some books in Italy. She is the first Japanese who passed the Italian Olive Oil Taster examination organized by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies. She is a panel member of AIPO (Associazione Interregionale Produttori Olivicoli), Laboratory of DISTAL (Dipartimento Scienze e Tecnologia Agro Alimentari) and some International competitions.
 

Na Xie,has obtained the official qualification of an international professional olive oil taster in Italy.
Now as an international jury, participated in some international olive oil competitions.  
Established a Consulting company&Studio,dedicated to promoting authentic premium extra virgin olive oil and the tasting standard,cuisine culture in China.  
Organize olive oil tasting seminars for Chinese consumers,chefs to promote EVOO culture,in many international exhibitions and IOOC China roadshows, such as the CIIE (China International Import Expo).  
Cooperate with restaurants to create EVOO pairing with Chinese ingredients. 
Continuous to share tasting experiences with Chinese producers to help them to improve the quality of EVOO.  
Also introduce them to participate in major international olive oil competitions to build awareness and enhance communication with the olive oil industry.
 

Muge NEBIOGLU

In 2003 she graduated from Uludağ University Food Engineering and in 2006 completed her Masters degree in Food Engineering. She started the doctorate in Ege University Food Engineering in 2014 about oils&and fats technology-oliveoils and phenolics.

She started to work as a specialist researcher at the Central Research Institute for Food and Feed Control She is a Professional Olive Oil Taster and teacher at the Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Olio Di Oliva.

Muge has organized olive oil tasting training and workshops around the world (Paris, Roma, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Morocco, Tunisia and Istanbul). She is a member of Jurys in several olive oil competitions around the world and is co-organizer and moderator of three olive oil competitions held in Turkey.
 

Hani Ashkenazi is an olive oil expert and consultant, Panel leader on behalf of the Israeli olive council. Graduate of professional courses and workshops for olive oil tasting for the IOC.
She has an extensive professional knowledge and experience of olive oil manufacturing and quality improvement.
Facilitator and lecturer in workshops and courses on olive oil, she works in close cooperation with the Israeli olive council and acts to promote consumption and knowledge of olive oil in Israel.
Educates and promotes the consumption, quality, and health of olive oil to young students. Her mission is to instill awareness of quality olive oil from an early age in Israel.
She participates in projects and researches in collaboration with the Rehovot agricultural faculty in olive oil related projects. Along side being the manager and operator of an olive oil mill, she is also also responsible for quality control of the oil I produce.
Organizer and promoter for gala events based on gourmet meals, in dishes based on olive oil of varieties as well as fused olive oil in close collaboration with leading chefs as well as with Israeli opinion leaders.
She is currently developing a line of desserts and sweets based on the different types of olive oil and their suitability to the product.

Carmelo Orlando, professional expert and consultant in agricultural sector with particular regard in the olive oil field for the ARSAC Calabria (Marketing and Extension Service).
Among his duties are studies and market research. He has participated in many projects in olive oil analysis and organoleptic assessment have established him as a valuable advisor to olive oil professionals.
He has had the Panel Leader qualification since 2003 in according to the rules of the IOC panel and he is head of the Professional Olive Oil Tasting Panel ‘’Primolio’’. Judge in different national and international competitions such as Der Feinschimecker International Oil Competition in Hamburg, EVO-IOOC in Paestum, Panel Leader in the Inter VERGA Prize, the Mediterranean GOLD competition and Skidòn Oil and member of the jury of the regional selection of the National Ercole Olivario Competition, BIOL Prize, Oleum Prize Olivarium.
Trainer in informative courses about olive oil, sensory analysis and tasting lab with children. Teacher in professional and technical courses, organized by various associations of manufacturers, and in university masters on olive oil and its sensory analysis. Co-author of many publications, books, articles, guides, catalogs on olive oil and tasting. Expert of olive oil international markets.

Prof. Maurizio Servili was born in Foligno on 8 September 1961, graduated in Agriculture in 1986 at the University of Perugia. He has acquired national and international scientific experience at the Institute of Agricultural Industries of the University of Perugia (1986-1990) and in the Food Science Laboratories, Dept. of Bioscience and Biotechnology of Strathclyde University, Glasgow, Scotland (CNR No. 203 06. 49, 1994) Prof. Servili began his academic career as a researcher (1990-1998) at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Perugia, he worked as an associate professor for three years at the Faculty of Agricultural University of Molise, in Campobasso and is currently among the full professors in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences of the University of Perugia. The most important research he conducted concerned the sectors of virgin olive oil, wine and canned tomatoes. The most important research topics are listed below: a) study of the influence of minor compounds of virgin olive oils and tomato preserves and in wine (phenolic substances, carotenoids and volatile compounds) on the sensory and health characteristics of the aforementioned products ; b) - evaluation of the antioxidant activity of the phenolic substances of virgin olive oil; c) - characterization of virgin olive oils in relation to their geographical origin (typification); d) - optimization of the evaluation of volatile substances in virgin olive oils, tomato and wine derivatives by head space and evaluation of related correlations with the relative sensory profile; e) Innovations applied to the mechanical extraction process of virgin olive oils aimed at improving the health and sensory properties of the oil and at enhancing secondary products such as vegetation water and virgin pomace. Prof. Servili is the author of more than 260 scientific papers published in national journals,
international, congress proceedings and book chapters. Participation in national and international research groups a member of scientific societies. Appointed by the Italian Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry Policies (Mipaaf) as a member of the national technical committee until 2012. Since 2008 he is a member of the group of chemical experts of the oil group of the International Olive Council; he is a member of the Italian Horticultural Society (SOI), of the Georgofili Academy of Florence and of the Italian Society of Food Science and Technology (Sistal); he is a member of the Academic Council of the National Academy of Olive and Oil, Spoleto (Italy) and of the Italian Society for the Study of Fat Substances (SISSG

JAVIER SANCHEZ PEDROS
Professional master miller and quality advisor with more than 15 years of experience at award-winning olive oil companies. In 2019 I received the “Maestro de Almazara” (master miller) award at Oleomaq International Fair. He is an active olive oil taster since 2006, panelist of the IOC accredited “Panel de Catadores de Aceites de Oliva Virgenes de Aragón” and member of the international jury at TerraOlivo 2018 and EVO-IOOC 2019 & 2020.
 

Ehud Soriano
Is an olive oil expert and consultant. He started his journey in the olive oil sector as a producer and olive oil miller and over time has become more and more enthusiastic about aspects pertaining to olive oil quality and culture. He is a graduate of the University of Jaén’s specialized course on the organoleptic assessment of extra virgin olive oil. Following his accreditation as a panel leader Ehud returned to Israel to establish the Israeli olive oil national tasting panel and the Ministry of Health tasting panel.

Ehud is part of the revolution of quality olive oil in Israel and leads many courses on tasting techniques, cultivation, production and marketing of olive oil.
He travels extensively abroad as a consultant, as an educator and as a taster with several international olive oil competitions including Ovibeja, EVO-IOOC, Evooleum, Masters of Olive Oil and Terra Olivo. He is also the professional manager of the Israeli National olive oil competitions.
 

Juan Baseda Torruella
Graduated in Veterinary, Bromatology and Food Technology from the Facultad de Veterinaria (Universidad de Zaragoza) and collegiate Nº 450 from Ilustre Colegio Oficial de Veterinarios de Teruel. From 1985 to 1998 he established himself as Production Manager in Laboratorios Cenavisa, SA. Since 1999 he has been Secretary and Technical Director of the Aceite del Bajo Aragón PDO. He has held the position of Deputy Panel Leader of the Panel of virgin olive oil tasters of Aragon since 2008. Since 2005 he is Technical Director of the Panel of virgin olive oil tasters of Aragon, and since 2001 Taster of the Panel of virgin olive oil tasters of Aragon. He is organizer of the “Mejor Aceite del Bajo Aragón” award since 2001. In May 2015 he was Panel Leader of table olives and today he is a member of the national and international juries of competitions on extra virgin olive oil.

 

Francisco Manuel Aguia de Sousa Ataide Pavao
Is an agronomist, olive grove manager, olive mill expert, educator and accredited taster. A graduate of the Superior Institute of Agronomy at Lisbon’s Technical University, he has managed olive groves, olive tree nurseries and olive mills for many years with a vast array of responsibilities. As technical manager and president of the Producers Association in Integrated Pest Management of Trás-os-Montes and the Alto Douro Region, Francisco has been in the forefront of implementing novel integrated production and organic farming techniques in these regions.

He teaches at the School of Agronomy at Bragança’s Polytechnic Institute and is a permanent member of the school’s extended panel of olive oil tasters. He has been the director of the Portuguese Farmers Confederation and judges regularly in several international competitions outside Portugal.
 

Mehmet Özgü Manisalı
After graduating from the Izmir University of Economics in 2007, Mehmet Özgü Manisalı, who established a boutique olive oil production facility in the North Aegean, has been producing olive & olive oil, Artisan Cheese and Tradional Vinegar for 11 years.
In 2017, he received his professional olive oil tasting qualification from the Olive Oil Academy at IRVEA Institute in Italy.
He has been appointed as olive oil judge in Italy International Armonia Olive Oil Contest in 2019, as well as the Italian EVO International Olive Oil Competition in 2019 & 2020. He also joined the 2021 Anatolian International Olive Oil Competition.
He enjoys giving tasting seminars at his own facility from time to time.
Olive oil expert Mehmet Özgü Manisalı is one of the most important representatives of Turkish olive oil in the world, with more than 100 awards received from all over the world.

 

Murat OZALTAS
Agricultural Engineer, he has been working as a researcher at Olive Research Institution that belongs the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. He is an expert taster, panelist of the several tasting panels, jury of national and international panels and an experienced agronomist on olive cultivation technics and improvement of olive oil quality. He has joined several projects and technical meetings on olive sector in Spain, Portugal, Montenegro, Croatia and Palestine. His PhD thesis is determination of relations between airborne pollen concentration and several climate data in forecasting of olive yield.

 

Mehmet ULAS

He completed a 3rd Master in Olive Growing and Oil Technology at the University of Cordoba. In addition, he completed his first tasting training under this program in 1999, under the direction of Snra. Brigida Gimenez Herrara and Sr. Pepe ALBA at CIFA-Cabra. İn 2011, He completed 9th Expert courses on virgin olive oil tasting at The University of Jaen. In 2012, the Izmir Olive Research Institute re-established the olive oil tasting panel. He completed panel leadership tasting graduate diploma-IOOC Madrid in 2018.
He has managed many international projects and collaborations with the international olive council. Technical cooperation with the Catalan panel in IRTA-Reus -2013. Technical cooperation with the CEPAAL in the “Modern Olive Farming Management” project. – 2014. Technical cooperation with the University of Cordoba in the “Effects of good agricultural practices on olive pest control in current strategies in Southern Spain” – 2015. Technical cooperation with the Cabra panel. 
Since 2012, he has participated in numerous national and international competitions, tastings pieces of training, and competitions. He has been an international jury at the Jaen University Olive oil tasting competition (2015), the jury at the Finolive Olive Oil Competition Porto Alegre-Brasil. (2014) and the Portuguese national olive oil competition in (2015-2016-2017-2018-2019) and the jury of Anatolian IOOC in 2021.
 

She is an Industrial Designer with an MFA degree in Interior Architecture and Environmental Design. An independent researcher focusing on Food Design, her work is based on exploring, sharing and connecting. She aims to create an interdisciplinary community which works collectively on food and design issues. She has organized and hosted food design talks, exhibitions, conferences and eating events. She has also taught Food Design to industrial design, interior architecture and architecture students.

Currently, she is coauthoring a book titled “İstanbulun Kadın Şefleri (The Female Chefs of İstanbul)”, a work in progress.
2020 Parabere Forum – speaker.
2021 Design Türkiye - jury member.
2022 JOOP design awards - jury member.

Yeşim Eröktem is a product designer and co-founder of DAY Studio, an İstanbul-based multidisciplinary design consultancy. DAY collaborates with international companies including Frette, Habitat, W Hotel and runs its product line under the design brand AVLU, creating simple yet functional everyday objects with a contemporary approach. After receiving her Bachelor's in Industrial Product Design at Istanbul Technical University, Yeşim completed Master's in Product Design at the École Cantonale d'art de Lausanne (ECAL). In 2021, she was included in the book Woman Made: Great Women Designers, published by Phaidon, among 200 women designers working in the field of design from the earlier twentieth century to the present day.

Yeşim Eröktem

Graduated from Istanbul Technical University in 2010, Doğanberk Demir completed his MA on Product Design at Swiss art school ECAL in 2012. Following his graduation, he got published Masterclass book by Frame magazine and worked at Barber Osgerby in London.

2012 onwards he worked at GAIA&GINO as Design Director, leading creative consultancy projects for Paşabahçe, Kayra, Casa, Swarovski and worked for the glassware brand
Verreum in Prague. In 2015 with his partner Yeşim Eröktem they founded their own design practice DAY Studio, a multidisciplinary design consultancy working with local and
international clients and running its own design brand AVLU focused on local manufacturing techniques, bridging contemporary design and İstanbul's rich crafts culture.

Nominated for Wallpaper* The Officine Panerai Next Generation Designer of the Year in 2017 and awarded EDIDA Design Studio of the Year, Doğanberk currently continues to work at DAY Studio & AVLU.

Eray Makal studied product design as an undergraduate and received an MFA in graphic design. Since 1993, he has been providing design services to top 500 companies in Turkey, print media, non- governmental organizations, and cultural/artistic institutions. His main areas of expertise include periodicals and book design, corporate
identity, and exhibition design. He is a member of the Industrial Designers’ Society of Turkey and the Graphic Designers’ Association. For nearly 20 years, he has been teaching various courses on design, such as Advertising Graphics, Publication Design and Design Management at Bilgi University’s Faculty of Communication.

Dr.Oya Akman graduated from Mimar Sinan University Department of Industrial Products Design. She completed her doctorate on semiotics, enhanced information transmission and symbol creation systems in Industrial Design. She worked as a designer for many years (50 years) in Turkey's leading glass, ceramic, porcelain, plastic textile industries, which she knows very well in the world. She worked as a faculty member at the Department of Industrial Product Design at Istanbul Technical University for 12 years. Since 2005, she has carried out national and international projects and designs with her own brand and won very important awards. German Design Awards,
Pentawards, RedDot, Good Design, Design Plus, Design Plus Material Vision, World Star, EUWIIN, Crescents and Stars of Packaging, etc. she has US and Turkey patents, useful models and many design registrations for . She has been giving lectures on Semiotics, Semantics, Glass Design and Production Technologies, Packaging Design and Technologies for many years, and has been executing interdisciplinary projects and many innovative startup and entrepreneurship student projects. Her products were featured at Oya Design stand at Germany's important fair Ambiente, as well as in the Trend Area, German Design Award nominated areas and in selected exhibitions. She was jury member in many competitions, an Advisory Board Member, seminars and conferences. Her designs are sold in the local and global market under the Oya Design brand. She is the head of the Industrial Design Department at Medipol University.

Gökçe Kırımlı took her first steps into the world of design and art during her high school years at Istanbul Avni Akyol Fine Arts High School. After completing her high
school education, she began her studies at the Department of Industrial Product Design at Marmara University Faculty of Fine Arts. During this process, she had the
opportunity to explore different areas of design by interning at Paşabahçe in 2014 and Zoom TPU in 2015 Between the academic years of 2014-2015, she received
education within the scope of the Erasmus Program in Genoa, Italy. In 2016, she won first prize in the Cardboard Packaging and Paper Products Design Competition with her design project named "Knit," earning her a scholarship for further education in Europe. She decided to focus on her other passion in life, "food," and went to Milan for a Master's degree in "Food Design." After her education in Milan, she completed a 3-month internship with Martí Guixé in Barcelona. During her internship, she designed various drink glasses and snack serving products for the L'ex Designer Project Bar. She also had the opportunity to work on the next series of "Digital Food," previously exhibited in Hamburg. Throughout this process, she extensively worked with 3D printers. In 2019, when she returned to Turkey, she started working in the field of food design in Istanbul, armed with the experiences she gained. Currently, she designs and produces food molds in collaboration with food establishments and chefs. Additionally, she develops various concept projects related to food, aiming to offer consumers a different food experience by treating food as a design material. She continues her work with this goal in mind.

Sevgi Kes graduated from Istanbul Technical University, Department of Industrial Design in 2012. Between 2013 and 2021, she was part of the design team of Paşabahçe, where she received awards for her glass designs in international design competitions such as Red Dot, IF Design Award, and German Design Award. As of 2021, she teaches glass design courses at various universities’ industrial design departments and continues her design work as a freelancer.