A chef for greater than 15 years, Patrick Karsu maintains nice ardour for sharing meals with others.
“It’s the final act of affection and intimacy—to make one thing that another person can take pleasure in in actual time,” he mentioned.
Patrick has channeled his ardour for sharing meals into a brand new firm impressed by the COVID-19 pandemic—et Oliva. The Mediterranean model additionally speaks to Patrick’s love of culinary nuance and a want to pay homage to his companion’s roots in Turkey.
The startup, Patrick mentioned, “got here out of what we misplaced throughout the COVID pandemic—the possibility to attach with one another over meals, drink and people near us.”
He continued, “As soon as issues got here again to regular, we have been nonetheless eager for what we misplaced. That’s the reason we established our model—to assist us all reconnect by way of the facility of nice meals.”
The inspiration that lies on the coronary heart of et Oliva could be traced to disappointment that Patrick skilled throughout a post-pandemic seek for merchandise that captured the element of taste he had skilled within the Mediterranean.
“Many industrial choices simply fell flat, flavor-wise,” mentioned Patrick, the CEO, Founder and Government Chef at et Oliva. “They both have been processed to the purpose of blandness; had means too many bizarre fillers and preservatives in them; or, contextually, have been merely out of attain for most individuals not accustomed to particular reference factors. At et Oliva, we got down to change that, and to alter folks’s perceptions of contemporary Turkish and Aegean meals.”
The automobile for this endeavor has been merchandise impressed by the mezze fashion of eating, composed of small plates meant to stimulate urge for food.
“We needed to convey the flavors of the sun-dappled shores of
the Aegean in addition to the textures and vibrant colours of the area to everybody’s desk,” Patrick mentioned, “true Aegean flavors, near nature.”
On development with the gourmand and gradual meals motion, et Oliva could be discovered in lots of specialty impartial grocers and shortly at Macy’s.com, Gelson’s and William Sonoma.
An rising, impartial, LGBT-owned-and-operated firm captivated with meals safety and social justice, et Oliva is including dimension to its depth by reimagining the post-pandemic culinary dialogue.
With an identification composed of many strands, et Oliva was a 2022 awardee of the IIEIF Fund for Range and Inclusion, from 1863 ventures. Additionally, the corporate is within the working for a 2023 SOFI award, by way of the Specialty Meals Affiliation.
After taking the enterprise from desk high accelerator mannequin to full out manufacturing and distribution, Patrick anticipates et Oliva changing into a nationwide luxurious or premium model. Plans additionally name for a C-Suite to assist handle day-to-day operations and sketch out an total imaginative and prescient for the corporate.
“Success a yr from now could be two-fold,” he mentioned. “We see it in income numbers that can hopefully internet out to over $375K, in addition to the addition of recent staff members to handle operations and additional double down on gross sales.”
Go to etoliva.com to study extra.
