Work

Fil Bucchino’s work spans extra virgin olive oil production, professional tasting, international judging, education, film, television, and live experiences.

He works with universities, culinary institutions, competitions, chefs, producers, media organizations, and private groups seeking a deeper understanding of olive oil and the people, places, and disciplines behind it.

Across each setting, Fil combines sensory expertise, direct production experience, cultural context, and storytelling to make a complex subject clear, engaging, and memorable.

Speaking and Education

  • Yale University
    Schwarzman Center, New Haven
    Master class, panel discussion, and olive oil tasting for more than 200 participants.

  • Consorzio Olio DOP Chianti Classico
    New York, Toronto, and Radda in Chianti
    Master classes and guided tastings focused on Chianti Classico extra virgin olive oil.

  • Italian Trade Commission
    Toronto, Canada
    Hospitality executives and Press Olive Oil Master Class

  • Ferrandi Paris
    Paris, France
    Keynote presentation, tasting, and discussion on olive oil, agriculture, and sustainability.

  • Jornada de Oleoturismo y Calidad
    Alcañiz, Spain
    Keynote speaker.

  • North American Olive Oil Association
    Las Vegas, USA
    Documentary presentation and audience discussion.

  • Slow Food
    Valli Orobiche and Mugello, Italy
    Presentation: Extra Virgin Olive Oil Is Not a Condiment.

  • Women in Olive Oil
    Charlottesville, USA
    Documentary presentation and discussion.

  • Devour! The Food Film Fest
    Wolfville, NS, Canada
    Master class and olive oil tasting.

  • Mediterranean Diet Roundtable
    Notre Dame, USA
    Communicating olive oil quality.

  • Unioncamere Lazio
    Toronto, Canada
    Master class and guided tasting of the oils of Lazio.

Competition Judge

Fil serves as a judge at international olive oil competitions across four continents.

His work draws on formal sensory training, certified panel experience, direct production knowledge, and years of tasting across different regions, cultivars, styles, and harvest conditions.

Selected Competitions

  • Los Angeles International Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition
    Los Angeles, USA

  • EVO IOOC
    Palmi, Italy

  • South African Olive Awards
    Stellenbosch, South Africa

  • Olio Nuovo Days
    Paris, France

  • Orciolo d’Oro
    Milan, Italy

  • Olive d’Or
    Paris/Montreal

  • Concorso Produttori, AIRO
    Florence, Italy

  • Liwa, Olio Nuovo Days
    United Arab Emirates

  • Olivonomy
    Paris, France

  • Canadian International Olive Oil Competition
    Montreal, Canada

Film and Television

Obsessed with Olive Oil

Host and Co-Producer

An award-winning documentary that follows Fil’s pursuit of the people, places, and practices behind exceptional extra virgin olive oil.

View in Media

The World of Olive Oil

Co-Host

A PBS special exploring the history, cultural significance, production, and evolution of olive oil across Italy.

View in Media

Awards & Recognitions

‘Olive Oil Personality of the Year’
2023 - The Italian Association of Olive Oil Restaurants (AIRO). (ITA)

‘Pentola D'Oro Buonissimo Award'
2023 -The Italian Chamber of Commerce of Ontario. (CA)

President, Ethical Awards
President (2024, 2023). (Olio Nuovo Days, Paris, FR)

National Directory of Technicians and Experts of Virgin and Extra Virgin Olive Oils
C.C.I.A.A. of Florence, Italy

ONAOO Professional Taster
Imperia, Italy, 4 Year Course

Certified Panel Taster
ANAPOO tasting commission pane

Obsessed with Olive Oil
Winner, Arcosanti International Film Carnival

Abandoned Grove

Abandoned Grove is the fullest expression of Fil’s work.

It brings together nearly two decades of production, sensory evaluation, education, storytelling, agriculture, and direct experience in the groves.

Fil founded Abandoned Grove on the belief that exceptional olive oil cannot be separated from the trees, land, people, and natural limits that make it possible.

The company protects, restores, and sustains olive groves while producing limited extra virgin olive oil from each harvest.

Today, more than 5,000 olive trees across the hills above Florence have been returned to care or protected from abandonment.

Learn More

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Fil works with universities, competitions, culinary institutions, producers, chefs, media organizations, companies, and private groups worldwide.

For speaking engagements, master classes, international judging, sensory education, media, film and television, and selected collaborations:

Get in Touch