baker & olive, the premier purveyor of internationally renowned olive oils, vinegars, cheeses and other specialty foods, opened its first Orange County location at the Corona del Mar Plaza in Newport Beach, Calif. November 2016, bringing real chef and cheese monger expertise to create amazing culinary experiences to inspire the community.
The baker & olive team offers chef-inspired provisions curated by its Sommelier and Executive Chef, Sean Fisher, and the newly appointed chef and cheese monger manager for the Newport Beach store, Ashley Cochrane, previously of the Montage Resort in Laguna Beach. The shop – which serves as a flagship location – serves as a tasting pantry, featuring a wood burning pizza oven (for demonstration tastings only), a demo nook, a cheese case filled with artisan cheese and charcuterie, and a bevy of specialty, seasonal olive oils and vinegars. The expert staff cooks up samples and conducting demonstrations, providing customers with a true culinaryexperience and how-tos on pairings, so that they can parlay that to an unforgettable experience at home. Of course, the main focus of the store is its seasonally available olive oils, which are the heart of the store’s operation.
“We take olive oil very, very seriously,” Cochrane said. “Ours are always fresh – within six months of harvest date – with the most stringent tasting and highest ratings available in the world. Our single varietal, single-estate premium extra virgin olive oil is delivered to our store from the current harvesting hemisphere and poured daily into bottles when the customer has tasted and selected their varietal.”
baker & olive was founded upon best-in-class products and ingredients, and the team thrives on creating experiences for each customer who walks through the doors. With three locations in the thriving culinary destination of North San Diego, baker & olive founders Nol Calabrese and Peter Pozzuoli have found a formula that works, and are excited to share it with Orange County. Partnering with local chefs and culinary wizards, the baker & olive team has revived the old world neighborhood market experience with a large portion of culinary creativity.
“We love our neighborhood chefs,” Pozzuoli said. “They are passionate pros, highly committed to evolving their craft to reinvent flavor profiles every day. They share that passion with us, and we get to bring it to the home chef, who then inspires life around their table.”
The culinary team at baker & olive always strives to source its handcrafted and chef-inspired food offerings locally – from fermented vegetables and granola, to bone broths, organic breads and salumi. It is the perfect shopping destination for gifts for any occasion, as well as the home chef looking to up their entertaining game.
About baker & olive:
baker & olive is a locally owned, chef-inspired specialty shop and tasting pantry in Southern California with stores in Encinitas, Del Mar, San Diego and Corona del Mar, Calif. The team at baker & olive is as passionate as its home chef customers are about good food and quality ingredients, and are inspired by people with a common connection. The culinary team creates a remarkable storefront with artisan cheese and charcuterie, the finest collection of world class aged balsamic vinegars, ultra-premium, freshest harvest olive oils from around the world, boutique wines, salts and seasonings, as well as an array of locally handcrafted food ingredients. At baker & olive, the mission is to constantly evolve, educate, absorb and collaborate with regional chefs and pass this culinary knowledge on to customers, with an old-world-meets-new-world, West Coast-inspired marketplace.
baker & olive is located at 928 Avocado Ave., Suite 928, in the Corona del Mar Plaza shopping center.
For more information visit, www.bakerandolive.com.
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Updated 11.30.16
