I developed my passion and took my first steps into the extraordinary world of extra virgin olive oil in an olive grove in Sicily many years ago.

This incredible experience led me in 2008 to want to create my own import and wholesale distribution company called ‘Lugano Fine Foods’, whose main goal was, and still is, to bring consumers a new awareness and appreciation for high quality extra-virgin olive oil, but above all by providing informative guidance and training on how to select and taste an extra-virgin olive oil, unlike most other exporters.

My business provides many high-end food and gourmet shops in the greater Toronto area, southern Ontario, Calgary and Vancouver.

As part of my efforts to educate consumers, I regularly collaborate with the Italian Chamber of Commerce and ICE offices in Toronto to promote quality olive oils through food events in collaboration with Italy. I have worked with chefs and wine importers, preparing special tasting evenings involving the pairing of food, extra virgin olive oil and wine.

In addition, I regularly provide advice through demonstrations and training courses held in our flagship partner shops where a wide variety of imported oils are available. I have been in contact with ONAOO since 2013, when I passed the first level course. In 2018, I completed my Level 2 course and became a professional taster.

Aldo holds a degree in Economics & Business Administration from the University of Genoa and a Master’s degree in Communication and NLP with certification from Richard Bandler’s NLP Society.

He has been involved in olive oil professionally for the past 20 years and is now one of the 100 Official Panel Leaders of the International Olive Council (IOC) and does business support in Italy and abroad.

He has experience in the olive oil industry as a Master Blender and Quality control and has worked for Italian and foreign companies such as Deoleo/Carapelli and Sugat Industries Ltd. He has been a professional taster since 2000; he won the overall first prize in 2000 and 2001 in the National Competition “Taster of the Year” organized by ONAOO.

Since 2016, he has been the Ideator & Founder and Organizer of the Masters of Olive Oil International Contest (MOOOIC). He has participated in multiple Juries of National and International competitions both as a member of the Jury and as a Panel Leader.

Aldo has taken part as a keynote speaker in multiple conferences on olive oil in Italy and abroad. He has taught and held Company training courses in Italy and abroad in Italian and English.

A degree in Economics and Banking, a Masters in Family Mediation, 20 years of work in a banking institution were not enough to forget his ambitions which prominently pushed him to start a new life path in 2016.

His origins were firmly planted in the family olive grove of upper Tuscia (Viterbo area, in general upper Lazio).

Since he was a child, that place represented entertainment, celebration and conviviality in the moments of harvesting and producing oil. Over the years, he began a new adventure with the aim to emulating his Etruscan ancestors, the first true ambassadors of the culture of outstanding quality.

He followed his training mainly through the big family of ONAOO and in March 2022 he obtained the certificate as Professional Taster.

He has been living in Bavaria for three years, where he conducts an activity both of consulting to specialized retailers and restaurateurs and of importing and selling of high quality extra virgin olive oils.

He has been Senior Brand Manager at Haugen-Gruppen AS, the largest food import company in Norway, with particular attention to the import, sales and marketing of internationally known brands.

Working in the food sector for more than 25 years, in companies such as Nestlé, Mars and Haugen-Gruppen AS.

The interest in olive oil began when he joined Haugen-Gruppen in 2000, with the role of Key Account Manager, with the job of selling olive oil to the main retail chains in Norway. For 15 years he has played the role of brand manager in the retail sector and for 3 years he has been brand manager in the Food Service sector.

He attended a technical course for olive oil tasters in 2015 and immediately afterwards he started his training to become Professional Taster ONAOO 2016. Been participated in International Meetings for “ONAOO tasters” since 2017. He has participated in several olive collections and pressing in Spain, Italy and Greece over the past 12 years, to learn about the different “cultures” in olive oil production (from small producers to large-scale productions) and to understand the differences.

With his knowledge he has been carrying out olive oil tasting with managers of the main chains (both in the Food Service sector and in the retail sector), shop managers, journalists, private sales organizations, and individuals as often as possible, trying to make the Norwegians understand what extra virgin olive oil really is.

Now he runs his own company Lukt, smak og nyt (smell, taste and enjoy) teaching consumers how to select and use extra virgin olive oil as a part time job and hobby.