FORK & SHOVEL

In the quarter century since we bought Olive Ridge Ranch, we've slowly turned it into what it is today: a vibrant, multi-crop farm that never fails to amaze us with its sheer beauty. We've modeled ourselves after the farms in Tuscany, where the watchword is biodiversity (it's extremely rare to find a farm there growing just one crop). Here, we grow olives, wine grapes, Meyer lemon trees, oranges, tangerines, peaches, plums, apples, pears, blackberries, quince, figs, persimmons, pomegranates, lavender - plus a huge vegetable garden. We also raise pigs, and chickens for eggs. And while we've always farmed sustainably, we've recently made the commitment to become certified as both organic and Biodynamic®. Of course, it's not just the diversity of those Italian farms that we admire. It's their passion for life, friends, family – and food! Hardly a week goes by on our farm by without some kind of gathering involving family and friends, whether it's cooking over the Tuscan grill in our fireplace, baking bread and pizzas in the outdoor oven Ridge and Philip built, or a pot-luck featuring spit-roast pig. We hope you'll find that our passion comes through in the products we make. Every one of them is hand-made and very small production, and everything we do is focused on quality. We encourage you to explore our website, www.davero.com. In particular, be sure to visit our Recipes Page, where there are wonderful recipes from some of the country's top chefs, and where you can also sign up for our recipes mailing list, and our Olive Oil Q&A page where we try to answer your questions (and dispell the many myths) around olive oil.