photo credit: Renée Vargas
Kathryn Tomajan is on a mission to de-commodify extra virgin olive oil and elevate its place in American food culture. She is an olive oil maker, taster, and educator, as well as a founder of Fat Gold, a small-batch producer in California. Kathryn earned a master’s degree in food culture from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy. Her thesis explored the opportunities and challenges of New World olive oil. Since then, she has made award-winning olive oil in Australia, New Zealand and California.
Kathryn is a trained olive oil taster and served eight years on California Olive Oil Council’s Sensory Panel. As an olive supply chain and sourcing expert, she advises food companies bringing products to market. Her clients include ENZO Olive Oil Company, Pineapple Collaborative, Pot d’Huile and PRMRY. She is a lecturer at Fresno State’s Jordan College of Agriculture and regularly leads training seminars for the olive oil industry and food professionals.
