Profile of San Francisco olive oil expert Fran Gage; Aptos Farmers Market oil tasting & book signing

This Saturday morning, Santa Cruz folks have the chance to taste artisanal olive oil and meet Fran Gage – a San Francisco-based author, baker and olive oil aficionado – at the weekly Aptos Farmers Market by Cabrillo College.

Ms. Gage’s newest book, published in 2009, is The New American Olive Oil: Profiles of Artisan Producers and 75 Recipes. The Saturday morning event includes olive oils from Aptos-based Valencia Creek Farms (the oil it produces is Olio delle Colline di Santa Cruz) and Watsonville-based Belle Farms.

The New American Olive Oil includes tips for choosing and storing extra-virgin olive oils, understanding the basic types of good oils, and how to host an olive oil tasting. The book has received countless great reviews, including this from renowned chef Mario Batali: “Fran Gage’s new tome on my favorite lipid of all time and the sharp American producers who make it is inspirational, historical, and informative. Most of all, it is delicious both to read and to cook from.”

Ms. Gage has had many food-related careers. Her life didn’t start out that way; in fact her graduate degree was in nursing. But after she got married she and her husband took a trip to France that transformed her: “I discovered that sauce wasn’t the same as gravy, asparagus didn’t come in jars, people ate the flowers of thistles, frozen fish wasn’t the norm, and shellfish was actually eaten raw…My husband, Sidney, and I came home and started to cook French food, working our way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Eventually I started teaching cooking to small groups in my kitchen, staying just a step ahead of the students. Then my thoughts turned to French pastry.” Ms. Gage eventually opened Fran Gage Pâtisserie Française, which she operated for 10 years – until 1995. She then began writing about food, publishing her first book in 1999.

Here are some of her books: Bread and Chocolate: My Food Life in & Around San Francisco (1999) included the essay “Vegetarian Turkey” which was featured in Best Food Writing 2000. A Sweet Quartet, Sugar, Almonds, Eggs, and Butter: A Baker’s Tour, Including 33 Recipes (2003) included the story “Sugar;” a section of this was featured in Best Food Writing 2003. In 2005 Ms. Gage co-wrote, with artisanal chocolatier Michael Recchiuti, “Chocolate Obsession: Confections and Treats to Create and Savor.” This book won a 2006 IACP award for photography and styling and was a James Beard Award finalist.

Her experience with olive oil is extensive. As research for her first book, Ms. Gage took an Olive Oil Sensory Evaluation course given by the University of California. Years later she became a member of the taste panel for the California Olive Oil Council. She judges olive oil at various events such as the Los Angeles International Extra virgin Olive Oil Competition. Today she always has “…at least three bottles of good olive oil in my kitchen that I rely on to add flavor to food. I even use olive oil when I bake.” If you’re interested in doing a mini-road-trip to some olive oil producers, check out Ms. Gage’s recommendations for four places to visit (Petaluma, Sonoma, and Napa areas) in the magazine Edible Marin & Wine Country. But don’t forget - she’s appearing locally, in Aptos, this weekend! (If you’re looking for times/days of local Farmers Markets, see my Farmers Market overview).

The Details
Fran Gage book signing & olive oil tasting
Sat, October 17, 9:30am – 10:30am
Aptos Farmers Market
Cabrillo College, 6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos, 95003

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