Team
The circle of friends behind il circolo consists of Sicilians, who have cultivated olives for generations, and Northern Europeans, who have known Sicily for decades and are great aficionados of the island. Together, we are committed to the exploitation free production of excellent organic olive oil.
Stephanie Rosenkranz comes to Sicily each year since her childhood and is addicted to olive oil and the mediterranean culture surrounding it. Next to her work for il circolo, she is also a professor of economics, researching about food fairness, sustainable food, and the challenges in the olive oil market. Together with Utz Weitzel, another olive oil addict and her partner in everything, she looks after the distribution of il circolo in Europe.
il circolo enjoys the support of many friends. Katja van Dien, attracted by il circolo’s vision and food lover by nature, joined this adventure and the ever exciting quest for delicious recipes to showcase il circolo olive oil.
IONDESIGN in Berlin created a fantastic, press-covered packaging.
And then there are our ambassadors, Susanne Effertz and Anja Götz, who help us to shorten the distribution chain by offering their space as pick-up location in Berlin and Krefeld.
If you are interested to become an il circolo ambassador in your town, please get in touch via [email protected].
il circolo’s olive groves in Sicily are looked after by Delfio Casto and his team, whose family has cultivated olives for generations. When it comes to pruning the trees, Delfio is a true landscape artist.
Family Giunta is il circolo’s partner in the Papelli olive oil mill, which has been a reference point for the production of quality oil in Sicily for almost 100 years. With state-of-the-art machinery they represent a new generation of olive oil makers: young and professional, with a lot of motivation and vision beyond the borders of Sicily; just like Daniele Mento, the ‘Doc’, with a PhD in agriculture and mastermind behind il circolo’s production processes. This team is part of a ‘brain claim’ of excellence in Sicily rather than a ‘brain drain’.
Last but not least, Crikka and Lupa are our two canine residents, vigilant guardians of the olive trees and the human residents.