About American Olive Farmer

Home of Lucero Olive Oil and Other Fine Brands

About the Owners

We are purveyors of delicious extra virgin olive oil and other delightful things for you to enjoy.  Located in Corning, a California farming town in the northern part of the Sacramento Valley, AOF is owned and operated by me, Liz Tagami, and my husband, Donald.

I've been involved with Lucero Olive Oil for over 14 years, since February 2008, and am a specialty food and cooking equipment industry veteran with nearly 4 decades of international business experience. Donald has many years working in restaurants, catering kitchens, a food development company, and as a cooking teacher. He does the cooking in our home, and is also the one upon whom I have relied to develop or vet the recipes that we've shared at Lucero Olive Oil over the past 7 years.

About the Olive Oil

Most olives for our production are grown within 3.0 miles of our location and are from two of the four main orchards which have continually supplied Lucero Olive Oil since 2011. We also source olives from various new California orchards started by our friends nearby. This fine fruit is harvested at its optimal time, usually between mid October and the end November of each year, and then bespoke milled by one of our two milling partners within hours to achieve our signature flavor. Additionally, our personal olive orchard is under development so we look forward to introducing that oil to you in future, too.

While my objective with Lucero has always been to stand primarily on deliciousness--your own palate will guide you--olive oil on offer here has its quality and authenticity further assured by being certified "100% olive oil from California" and graded "extra virgin" by the Olive Oil Commission of California (OOCC) under the aegis of the California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA). Simply put, the CDFA certifying an olive oil "extra virgin" is similar to the USDA certifying standards for beef. We must annually meet the carefully regulated and high standard set by the State of California; it's the law.

Whether you're purchasing for health and wellness so require premium authentic olive oil to deliver its best, or you prize fresh authentic flavors and seek deliciousness, we apply ourselves to deliver on both accounts.

A Brief Note About Other Things

Vinegars sourced and/or blended by Tagami for Lucero since 2008 have been rebranded to reflect this. All vinegars continue to be produced exclusively in  Modena, Italy.

We hope to have Little Thief Mustards back again in 2023.

All olive wood is sustainably sourced from orchards in Tunisia.

Should you have questions about anything else, please let us know. We're glad you found us, and appreciate you reading about the company.