Half a dozen entities in the province join forces to promote the Sevillian table olives. They want to organize events to ensure that the product has greater prominence in its area of origin

The idea is that the table olives become one of the most important symbols of Sevillian gastronomy, that it has the leading role it has at the international level and that, however, in its land of origin, it is not so present.

Up to half a dozen entities in the province are heavily involved in the project, which will result in various events in the coming months, although the idea is to expand this group to give it greater identity. This "green alliance" is promoted, above all, by two entities. On the one hand the Regulatory Council of Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) Manzanilla and Gordal Olive of Seville and on the other the Sevillana Academy of Tourism Gastronomy.

In fact, both entities already sealed a Alliance last March and the objective was for the academy to choose the product of the year to promote table olives.

However, now, this alliance has expanded considerably as several more entities have entered the movement. In fact, a few days ago a meeting took place in Umbrete which was also attended and joined by the Association of Wine and Liquor Producers of Seville, the Ateneo de Triana and the Western Andalusia Barman's Association.

Likewise these days the president of the Manzanilla and Gordal Olive Regulatory Council, Juan Luis Oropesa, also holds meetings with Prodetur, the organism of the Seville Provincial Council focused on promotion and tourism, to see how they collaborate in the project .

Oropesa points out that these are important moments for the Sevillian table olives. On the one hand, they have a very important problem with the United States market, one of the main ones for this product, but at the same time they are happy that up to three products are already being marketed, since this summer, protected by the seal of the Regulatory Council and elaborated by Sevillian firms. These are some manzanilla olives marketed under the brand "La Sabrosita" of Olivaida (Albaida del Aljarafe), others of the Gordal type of Chamomile Olive (Utrera) and another more special product of stuffed olives made by this same firm.

Oropesa points out that they will continue to contact more groups to try to join them in this initiative. One of its priorities is precisely to contact the hoteliers to also try to involve them in this project that aims to make quality olives more present in the gastronomy of the province and also increase their presence in bars.

This deep connoisseur of the world of table olives points out that “olives have always been related to Seville. Our motto is precisely Seville, where the olives come from and it is very important that in their homeland they acquire more prominence. There is news of Sevillian olives exporting to America since 1510 and wine was also in the same item, because there is no doubt that both products are closely related, they are usually consumed together.

The main difficulty they encounter "is being able to perform acts in these circumstances." In fact, the Sevillana Academy of Gastronomy, as highlighted by its president Julio Moreno Ventas, had planned a series of events such as a recipe contest "that we have not been able to carry out." The idea we have "although we still have to talk about it at an official level is to extend the year of the olive to 2021" in order to meet the objectives we had set for ourselves.

Moreno Ventas is very satisfied with the collaboration with the Regulatory Council for Manzanilla and Gordal olives. Both entities emphasize that "we do not want to talk about the olive as a product, but as a culture and hence other sectors such as wine or the athenaeum are involved."

The Regulatory Council is already working on a first act that will take place in October in the center of Seville. The idea will be to have in this area a kind of transparent "bubble" inside which there will be an olive tree. In this space, interviews will be carried out with people related to the olive, culture and Sevillian social life so that they can talk about the importance of this product. These interviews will be videotaped for dissemination.

There are also contests or other projects where chefs are involved since one of the main objectives is that quality olives are more present in restaurants and participate more in their dishes. The event agenda is still very open "and it will depend on how this whole issue of the Coronavirus evolves."

Oropesa points out that he is very sad to see «how many establishments offer very low quality olives. It has been established that olives are something that is given away and on many occasions the cheapest is sought, the product is not taken care of and it is a pity ».

The president of the Regulatory Council is in favor of “that the product be taken care of more, that a quality olive is offered as it is beginning to happen with the bread or the peaks that are more cared for from the moment they are charged. If it is necessary to collect the olive so that it has quality, then go ahead.

Another contribution to this alliance in green will come from the academic and professor of Nutrition and Bromatology of the Pablo de Olavide University, Francisco Martín Bermudo, who will lead a study on the nutritional qualities of the product.

The Regulatory Council for Manzanilla and Gordal olives has officially been in operation since the end of 2019 and is in charge of ensuring the quality of these products.