The Olive Branch Deli is a fairly new addition to Kloof Street, Cape Town. The deli provides market vendors offering seasonal and artisan products a platform to sell their goods and grow their brands on a daily basis in the heart of the bustling Kloof Street. The store enables city dwellers fresh and unique products that are sourced locally and sustainably.
Hand-picked, just like the olives themselves, The Olive Branch Deli stocks some of South Africa’s finest liquid gold. Their selection includes everything from small-scale boutique estates to some of the country’s top international award-winning producers. All of the olive oils are CTC compliant which is an indication that the oil was produced according to the highest international standards.
Due to the fact that owner of The Olive Branch Deli, Omeros Demetriou is extremely passionate about selecting and stocking some of the very finest locally sourced olive oils, we at Olive Central wanted to get to know the man behind the Deli and asked Demetriou some questions about his olive oil philosophy.
Q: What inspired you to open the Olive Branch?
A: I guess it all started with my father. Every year he would buy fresh olives from local farms and prepare them according to the same methods his family had used in Cyprus over many generations before him. One year he asked me to type out some of the recipes to share with friends and family who were also interested in curing their own batch of olives. While doing so, I happened across an article highlighting some of the many health benefits associated with olives and olive oil. Further research also revealed that South Africa was producing some amazing olive products (most notably olive oil), but that the industry was struggling to compete against much cheaper imports. The juxtaposition of a struggling industry with a world-class product called for more research, the summary of which, leading me to an online publication (Olive Oil Times) for which I became a correspondent as well as a marketing job at a local olive estate. While all this was going on my father, in typical Cypriot style, was selling his olives (among other things) in the family watch business. Novelty aside, it seemed that there was a demand for quality Mediterranean products in our area. This constituted the necessary market research which would eventually form the inspiration behind the Olive Branch Deli when the right location came up in Kloof Street, Cape Town.
Q: When it comes to choosing what olive oil to stock in your deli what do you look for?
A: Our two requirements are that the olive oil must be CTC compliant and from the most recent harvest period. Our selection includes everything from small-scale boutique estates to some of the country’s top international award-winning producers. From the perspective of the palette, we offer both single-cultivar oils as well as blends and through our daily tastings in-store we encourage our customers to try oils from all three categories (delicate, medium and intense).
Q: What is your opinion on local vs imported olive oils?
A: Growing up in a Greek household, my exposure to olive oil was by default always imported. It was only after learning about the health benefits associated with consuming the freshest possible oil that my perceptions were changed. Most imported olive oils only provide the production or bottling date which does not provide the consumer with an accurate indication of the oil’s inherent freshness. Not only are fresh oils more healthy, but the three official characteristics (fruitiness, bitterness and pungency) of a good quality olive oil are also more apparent. This is not to say that good quality imported olive oils don’t exist (they most certainly do!), but rather that the consumer has a better chance of maximising the health and flavour benefits of their purchase decision by choosing to buy local. As confirmed reports of mislabeling and tampering/blending in several European markets come to light, South African-produced olive oils will become even more enticing.
Q: What is your favorite local olive oil
A: At the moment, my two favourite olive oils are Kleinoods’s De Boerin multi-varietal (Stellenbosch) and Kransfontein Landgoeds’s Coratina mono-cultivar (Stilbaai). I appreciate both these oils for their intense pungency, bitterness and grassy nose, as well as their perfect suitability in raw applications such as in fresh salads or when complimenting a pasta or gnocchi dish.
Q: You recently hosted an olive oil tasting at your store, will this be a regular occurrence?
A: In addition to the daily tastings we provide in-store, we will be hosting tastings with individual estates on a regular basis throughout the year. We will try to focus on one estate each month, with the next tasting taking place on the 15th of April. Considering the wide variety of olive oil styles on offer, we also try to advise our customers when it comes to food-pairing and complimenting (and sometimes even highlighting) the individual characteristics associated with different cultivars and blends.
Q: Are you planning on having a table olive tasting?
A: All our table olives at the Olive Branch Deli are available for tasting on a daily basis. In addition to our classic Kalamata (Tokara Olive Estate), we also introduce two new olive preparations/recipes every week, inspired by different cultures and countries from around the world. So far, our two most popular olive preparations have been our Cypriot “Tzakistes” Olives (a cracked green mission olive marinated in Cypriot oregano, lemon and olive oil) and our “Asian Fusion” Olives which combines a variety of Asian influences including soya sauce, ginger and honey. We also stock our own home-cured olives, under the name ‘Cure-ate’, using locally sourced olives and traditional curing recipes from Cyprus.
For more information visit The Olive Branch Deli website.
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