“Oleoteca”: Yalies sip and sniff olive oil at Schwarzman
Oleoteca: Olive Oil Exploration led by Tassos Kyriakides on Nov. 7 taught attendees how to distinguish and appreciate quality extra-virgin olive oils.
Michelle So, Contributing Photographer
On Nov. 7, 100 eager olive oil sommeliers-to-be entered the Schwarzman Center Commons Dining Hall for the Oleoteca: Olive Oil Exploration. The event’s waiting list spanned the mid-400s, according to olive expert Tassos Kyriakides SPH ’96 SPH ’99.
Kyriakides, an assistant professor of biostatistics at the School of Public Health, is a certified olive oil sommelier. While his main work is in medical clinical trials, he also co-founded the International Symposium on Olive Oil in 2018.
“I want to see how to assess if oils are good or bad and know the science and the chemistry of what makes [olive oil] good,” said Sara Ahmed SOM ’26, who attended the event. “I want to be a sommelier of olive oil. That’s a thing, right?”
Braden Wong ’25 said he registered for the event after reading that “Yale students are consuming so much more olive oil compared to the national average.” Wong has heard much about olive oil’s health benefits and said that “to hear a professor who’s extremely passionate about the topic is extremely exciting.”
As guests filed in, they grabbed seats, quietly introducing themselves to each other and excitedly eyed the samples of oils before them.
Kyriakides began the tasting by turning to the audience and asking how many keep olive oil in their kitchen. Most attendees raised their hands. He then asked who kept olive oil by the stove. Only a handful of palms went down.
“Bad,” Kyriakides said. “Heat, age, light, oxygen — they introduce defects into your oils. Move your oils elsewhere.”
Humbled, some sommeliers-to-be nodded and wrote down Kyriakides’ storage tips.
Kyriakides began with a defective oil, one that had been left out in the sun, uncapped, for two hours. He described it as having a “rancid, almost crayon-like” taste.
“I bring my olive oil to restaurants when I don’t know what they’re serving,” Kyriakides, who also takes one shot of olive oil every morning, said. “My kids hate it. They say, ‘Dad, please don’t bring out your olive oil again.’”
Amanda Sun SOM ’25, an exchange student from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, registered for Oleoteca to better understand what makes quality olive oil. In China, Sun said, people usually cook with peanut or sesame oil, not olive oil.
The three non-defective oils hailed from different regions of Europe: Moriolo from Italy was mild, sweet and round; Picual from Spain held similar notes but was punchier and spicier; and Zoi from Greece was a vibrant fresh green four-week-old oil so sharp that it evoked coughs across tables.
The green color comes from chlorophyll, a type of plant pigment, Kyriakides explained. Sharing their thoughts aloud, many nodded at the comparison to freshly mowed grass. Others shouted out “matcha,” “arugula” and “seaweed.” The guests’ coughing resulted from the high concentration of oleocanthal, a beneficial but bitter compound found in extra virgin olive oils.
“This was my first time drinking olive oil,” Sun laughed. “I’d never noticed the spicy or bitter before. That was new.”
Learning how much extra care is required to maintain the integrity and quality of olive oil, Wong was impressed by Yale Hospitality’s ability to maintain and store great quantities of it.
Kyriakides will be leading another Oleoteca in the spring. Wait-listees are encouraged to keep an eye out on the Schwarzman Center page.
At Oleoteca’s last event in April 2024, 55 attendees crammed into the Well, a much smaller venue. This year, to accommodate overwhelming interest, organizers moved the event upstairs into Commons.
On Nov. 6, Kyriakides also led an event called Olive Oil: Gastronomy and Health, a multi-course olive oil tasting in the Humanities Quadrangle.
Correction, Nov. 11: The article has been updated to correct the founding date of the International Symposium on Olive Oil and reflect that the April 2024 Oleoteca was not inaugural.