At our last Chef in Residence pop-up, Butter on the Endive had the great pleasure of working with Tonio Creanza as one of our collaborators. Originally from Puglia, Tonio now splits his time between Italy and Vancouver, returning home each summer to Altamura to host art restoration and culinary workshops. His family has been producing olive oil for generations (really, really good stuff!), and to kick off each dinner, Tonio began with a talk on all things olive oil, followed by a tasting and a song sung by the man himself.
On the last night, after dessert had been served, Tonio persuaded me to get up and sing a song. I was hesitant and nervous at first, but got into it once I got his guitar in my hands. Afterwards, he said something to me which I’ve been thinking about ever since. “It’s good to show people the whole person,” he said. It struck home especially hard, as I had just obsessed over the food for the past 2 days, barely eating or sleeping. It was at a point in the evening when I needed someone to pull me out of my cooking bubble, and I want to say thank you to Tonio for doing that.
You can find the Fagmilia Creanza olive oil in Vancouver at Blue Owl Home Boutique and Le Marché St. George.
