Using high-quality olive oil in nearly every segment of your menu goes a long way toward improving your food quality across the board.  Olive oil may be the most critical and underappreciated ingredient in the kitchen of any pizzeria. When I was growing up, the aroma of meatballs frying in rich, high-quality Italian olive oil was the signal that Sunday dinner was being prepared and all was right with the world.

Needless to say, no Italian restaurant or pizzeria would dare use anything but the very best extra-virgin olive oil. Unfortunately, over time, rising prices and diminished quality has combined with a lack of understanding by both consumers and restaurant operators to set the stage for both inferior flavor and outright food fraud. For these reasons, I’ve moved towards using mainly fall-harvest California olive oil, which, in my opinion, represents the best combination of value, consistency and quality.