How it all began is a question I am often asked.

Many years ago, my late father worked as an agent, travelling around Cyprus buying donkeys for the leader of the Turkish Cypriots at the time. The donkeys were exported and sold to the British Army in Egypt. With the money he earned, he purchased plots of land around the village of Louroujina, my birthplace, and planted olive saplings.

My mother and father nurtured these saplings, and when they emigrated to the UK, relatives watched over their olive groves on their behalf. They would send containers of olive oil over each year for our own use, and I have fond memories of receiving this liquid gold. They would also sell some of the oil to the co-operative, which in turn sold it to Italian companies that repackaged and marketed it as Italian olive oil.

In 2002, my father sadly passed away, and I decided I wanted to continue his passion and share the exceptional quality of his olive oil. I started selling a few bottles from my electrical shop in Clerkenwell, and before long we began receiving recognition in various magazines. Early on, our olive oil was chosen as the best olive oil by New York Magazine.

What makes it such high quality? We produce and sell it to the same standard as the oil we consume ourselves. We refuse to compromise on quality for the sake of mass production, and as a result, we have continued to grow and gain recognition for what we do.

Today, we are also proud members of the Guild of Fine Food.