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On a crisp autumn morning, I’m sitting at The River Cafe with Ruthie Rogers, her executive chef Sian Wyn Owen, and one of the restaurant’s youngest chefs, 21-year-old Oliver Matheson. The team have just returned from their annual trip to Tuscany, where staff – both kitchen and front-of-house – are immersed in learning about the olive oils and wines they serve. This includes staying and dining in the homes of the producers. “The goal,” says Rogers, “is for our staff to develop a deep respect and understanding of the olive oils and wines, beyond just cooking with them. It’s a rigorous process – we call it an ‘ordeal by fire’ in terms of the information everyone has to absorb over the space of a few days.” 

On the table in front of us are five bottles of the new season’s olive oils from estates visited by Rogers and her team, which for the first time will not just be used in the restaurant, but will be available to a wider audience through a subscription service. There’s a stack of small glasses, a plate piled high with focaccia, and another with crisp leaves of Radicchio di Treviso, their white stems ending in amethyst curls.

Good olive oil, like good wine, evolves and mellows over time

Rogers opens the first of the bottles, each featuring its own distinct label by graphic design duo Michael Nash Associates, with whom the River Cafe has worked for many years. “This has just arrived,” she says. “Look at the colour – the green is so vibrant it’s almost neon.” She explains that the olives are hand-picked when only 10 per cent of the fruit on the tree has started to turn black, ensuring they are still green and pressed the same day for maximum freshness and fragrance. Then she pours a generous amount of the oil from the centuries-old Fontodi estate in Chianti into the glasses. We cradle them to bring warmth to the glass, and swirl the oil gently. “Now, breathe in the aroma, then sip, coating your tongue with it and wait before you tell me what you taste,” she instructs.

A peppery freshness explodes in my mouth, hitting the back of my throat moments later. Rogers explains that these fresh, bitter notes, accompanied by a hint of spice, herbs and artichoke, create the vibrant flavours that define a new-season oil.

We dip radicchio into small plates – “less filling than always dipping bread”, laughs Rogers. Its peppery sharpness is delicious with the bitter leaf. She recalls her first taste of olive oil in the ’70s with her late husband, the architect Richard Rogers, in Italy. “I had bruschetta and couldn’t believe it was just olive oil that I was tasting. There was nothing like this when I was growing up in America. I was sure they’d added ingredients like chilli!” She adds: “One of the things that I adore about nature is that the olive harvest coincides with the cavolo nero and chickpea harvest, and their flavours perfectly complement the new oil. As the oils age, they mellow and we use them differently.”

Next up is an oil from Capezzana, an estate near Florence where oil has been produced since Roman times. It’s fresh and light with grassy, peppery and artichoke notes. Then we move onto Le Ferre, crafted by one of Italy’s youngest masters in Castellaneta in Puglia, the birthplace of Rudolph Valentino. It is peppery and spicy with a subtle herbaceous bitterness.

Finally, we taste Fèlsina Correggiolo Denocciolato and Fèlsina Classico, both from the southern border of Chianti – the former is a vivid green colour and tastes of freshly mown grass, rocket and artichokes; the latter is bitter, peppery with a hint of spices and herbs.

“Good olive oil, like good wine, evolves and mellows over time,” says Rogers. She emphasises that most generic olive oils are blended and suitable for cooking, but the oils from these mostly ancient estates, each crafted from unique olive varieties, are meant for finishing dishes, a top note where their vibrant flavours can truly perform.

Historically, olive oil rarely travelled more than 20 miles from the estate where it was harvested; it was a localised, artisanal process. Rogers notes that much of today’s global olive oil industry has shifted away from these practices, but she takes pride in supporting these estates and investing time in educating others about their quality and authenticity.

There is something lovely about the idea of being able to give a year’s subscription of oil as a gift – even to myself. “I am really excited to be able to bring these carefully selected olive oils to a wider audience,” says Rogers “You’ll always have high-quality oil on hand without having to source it yourself – we’ve done the work for you! Plus, the team will provide tasting notes and recipe ideas to help you make the most of each bottle.”