Those of you who have occasionally read our blog may well be wondering why Giles suddenly sounds like a girl… Don’t worry – nothing funny going on, Mr Henschel has charged me with writing a series of blogs over this Summer to present my own insight into the inner workings of Olives Et Al while I spend a few months working here.
I am Maddie (Madeleine) Bailey, a 22 year old recent language graduate who has been lucky enough to be taken on by Olives Et Al for the Summer before beginning my teacher training at Oxford in September.
Having lived in Sturminster Newton since I was 15 (and having had a strange penchant for olives since I was about 3) I have always had a soft spot for Olives Et Al as one of my favourite local businesses in my home town, so ending up working here has been a very interesting peek under the bonnet of an organisation I had seen only from a hungry, but delighted, customers perspective. Working here certainly is hard work, however I have found it extremely enjoyable as well as rewarding and I’ve discovered that my perceptions of the Olives Et Al values really are more than marketing rhetoric, in fact they go right to its core.
As a language student, I have of course done a bit of travelling and spent a lot of time in southern Spain (mostly on the beach with beardy weirdies), eastern France (in a school for electricians and mechanics) and Switzerland (mostly in salsa clubs) and love learning new languages, meeting new people and getting stuck in to new ideas and different cultures and exciting recipes. Working at Olives Et Al these things have come in pretty handy – writing emails on behalf of the Technical department to a man named Francisco and explaining to a Spanish lorry driver that he was lost in Dorset – and every day I learn something new about marketing, myself and what Olives Et Al really means.
I hope you enjoy my insight into the world of Olives Et Al as a member of the team and as a customer and please do write back and tell us what you all think!
p.s. I am a Nietzschean superwoman and as such, have no need for such trivial things as spelling and punctuation!
Tags: food, France, olives et al, recipes, Spain, Sturminster Newton, Switzerland, travel
Hi Maddie,
Congratulations on your opportunity with Olives Et Al, I am sure you have received a warm welcome from the lovely team there and will do so from their fun foody audience too!
I look forward to enjoying your blogs over the Summer!
Lucy : )
Fave OEA product = It’s got to be the rosemary & sea salt reganas smothered in your tapenade marocaine….Heaven!
Hi Lucy!
The OEA team are all so lovely (Currently enjoying a cup of tea made by one of them!) and have made me feel really really welcome in the office. We should be getting out at least two blogs a week now so watch this space!
Maddie x
Looking forward to your blogs
You loved olives from aged 3! Wow! I’m an olives beginner, although I already have a penchant for your habas fritas. Can you recommend me a nice olive that’s not in anything spicy? X
The habas fritas are great – we always have them at home because my sister loves them too! We actually have just launched a new range of Italian olives which are absolutely lovely – the Noceralla del Belice are big round green olives from Sicily with a really rich buttery flavour and aren’t marinated in anything so all you can taste is the olive! x
Hello Madeleine
I have just bought a huge tub go the Nocerella del Belice olives. They are amazingly moreish. Best served at room temperature I think to ensure that you get all the taste and the buttery texture too. Great blogs – I’m looking forward to the next one.
PS I don’t think even you can dispense with the niceties of spelling and punctuation! Xx