A Story of Loss and Silence

My grandfather lost all six of his siblings on that journey, and later both of his parents. He rarely spoke about it. His silence carried the weight of everything he had endured.

He became a professor of economics, yet never fully trusted financial systems — he avoided banks and delayed buying a home for many years. Trauma has a way of shaping even the smallest decisions in life.

So why share this story? Because this is how our family came to inherit our olive orchards.

From Loss to Legacy: Our Olive Orchards

The olive oil in our home always came from those orchards in Bergama — trees that became part of our family's story through displacement and survival. My grandfather entrusted their care to a groundskeeper who would send us fresh olive oil every season.

After he passed, my father took over. Then one year, something unexpected happened: there were no olives. No harvest. No oil. That was the moment I realized — it was my turn.

Returning to the Roots

Caring for olive trees in Turkey is more than agriculture — it's tradition, identity, and family. When my son came home from Canada for the holidays, we found ourselves standing beneath centuries-old olive trees, harvesting olives together for the very first time.

Overlooking the valley and the shimmering waters of the Aegean Sea, it felt like something deeply familiar — almost instinctive. As if this connection to the land had always been part of us.

A Touch of Mythology

Among the trees, we found one shaped like a heart. Naturally, we imagined a story: perhaps Zeus, in a moment of jealousy, transformed a forbidden lover of Hera into an olive tree.

In a place like Pergamon, where history and mythology intertwine, such stories don't feel far-fetched — they feel alive.

The First Harvest

At the end of the day, extracting our own olive oil was more than a reward — it was a reconnection.

Because it was early harvest season, the result was a vibrant, peppery extra virgin olive oil — fresh, aromatic, and far beyond what we expected.

From Orchard to Table

Today, this olive oil is more than just an ingredient. It is part of our story.

At our cooking classes, we proudly use olive oil from our own heritage orchards — sharing not only authentic flavors but also a piece of history, resilience, and family tradition.

• A true story of Ottoman-era migration and heritage
• Deep roots in Aegean olive culture
• A connection between family, land, and food
• Authentic farm-to-table olive oil experience

Some recipes begin in the kitchen. Ours begins in the soil.