December 1st, 2010
On my way to buy bread from the St. John today, I discovered a very unusual olive oil vendor – an electrical shop! Embassy Electrical Supplies sells the family olive oil, from Cyprus and Turkey in the electrical shop. Having looked up the shop on the internet, as it’s so unusual, I’ve discovered that this olive oil is very highly rated. Murat du Carta and Chateau Carman are included in a review by the Guardian, in its “50 best things to eat in the world” and the Sunday Times, to name just a few!
Mehmet, the owner of the electrical shop, came to Britain in 1955. When his father died in 2002, he inherited 500 olive trees and started importing the family olive oil in 2004. The olive oil business is doing well and Mehmet has increased the size of his harvest by buying 45 acres of land in Turkey. The business is now importing more than 1,000 litres of olive oil a year.
Embassy Electrical Supplies is at 76 Compton Street, London, EC1V 0BN – off St. John Street.
I tried Mehmet’s oil when I was working in Clerkenwell. It was good but I’m succombed to the delights of Il Podere – extra virgin oil from Natoora. I have a 5 litre can and use it for cooking, salads and dressing. You can order goodies online from
http://www.natoora.co.uk. When I was cooking at the Dock Kitchen, we got lots of wonderful ingredients from them.
Il Podere Extra Virgin is from Lucca, Italy, meant to say.