Phillip and Amanda Aplas have opened a new addition to their Allora Ristorante. The Olive Shack is the first olive tasting centre in the country that exclusively stocks South African olive oil and olive products.
“Whenever I went overseas I always had to bring home cans of olive oil for my mother-in-law from Greece. But when I introduced her to olive oil from Prince Albert, which she then preferred, I realized the South African olive industry has come of age. This planted the seed for our olive tasting centre,” says Philip.
Visitors to The Olive Shack can taste a variety of olive oils for free with freshly baked bread from the restaurant next-door. They can also buy olive oil on sale in standard containers from the various producers or in bulk in recycled bottles from the restaurant. Picnic baskets are also on sale, either as takeaways or to be enjoyed with wine in the garden next to the stream on the property. They also stock a variety of home-made cheeses made by an Italian living in South Africa.
The Olive Shack stocks at least six of the top ten producers in the country plus a few lesser-known ones from the Franschhoek valley. They also cure and bottle different styles of olives themselves but at the same time support others with niche olive products from areas such as Riebeeck Kasteel, Paarl, Darling and Somerset West. These include among others, Kalamata (black olives in brine), Throumbes (green olives with cracked coriander, lemon and garlic), Tsakistes (sundried and salted black olives), as well as a variety of other infused olives. Other products include Tampanara in a variety of flavors, tapenades, olive pesto, olive jams, olive preserves, olive chutney, olive salt, and dukkha. By-products on sale are olive oil soaps, body lotions, lip balms and body wash products.
[Article originally published in the December edition of the Franschhoek Tatler]
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