People of American Olive Farmer

Home of Lucero Olive Oil and Other Fine Brands

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.

Liz

I'm a 6th generation Californian who has been involved in defining and nurturing the Lucero Olive Oil brand 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. Here are a few examples of my olive oil bonafides in recent years:

• Invested over 200 hours in olive oil sensory evaluation training, olive milling instruction, and related master classes around the world
• Adjudicated as an official panelist for over 60 hours in olive oil competitions in Jerusalem, Napa, and Tokyo
• Devoted three years as a member of an AOCS [American Olive Oil Chemists Society] Tasting Panel
• Delighted in three years as the Director of International Relations for the largest olive oil event in Asia, Olive Japan
• Volunteered as a board member for the Extra Virgin Alliance and Olive Oil Commission of California, where I was a  charter member of both organizations
• Volunteered two years as an executive advisor on the UC Davis Olive Center board of directors
• Early days reporter and writer for the Olive Oil Times and OliveOil.com
• Speaker to both professionals and enthusiasts at olive oil and agriculture conferences on five continents
• Former consultant to premium olive growers in 12 countries
• Olive Oil subject matter expert for Gerson Lehrman Group for over a decade
• Led management team through ownership transition in 2014 and created infrastructure to support over 4x tonnage growth for Lucero Olive Oil, a fully vertical omnichannel olive oil company

Donald

Donald has been my partner since 1976. Over the decades he has spent many years working in Bay Area restaurants, catering kitchens, for one of the nation's top food development companies, 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 since 2015.

Should you have other questions, please let us know. We're glad you found us, and appreciate you wanting to know more about the company.