Extra virgin olive oil, or EVOO, is widely considered the top cooking oil for quality and versatility, and nearly 100 percent of U.S. production is centered right here in California.
Savor the flavor
Pasolivo offers tastings at its Paso Robles ranch at 8530 Vineyard Drive and downtown tasting room at 1229 Park St. For hours and reservations, visit pasolivo.com; walk-ins are welcomed as space allows. Follow the company on Instagram and Facebook @pasolivo.
Pasolivo will be hosting a food and wine pairing event at Paso’s Vina Robles tasting room on May 30. Purchase tickets via its online event calendar.
For folks lucky enough to live on the Central Coast, Pasolivo currently boasts the world’s best flavored version, with tasting experiences offered at two locations in Paso Robles.
In March the company’s lemon variety received the Margaret Edwards Award, the highest honor in the flavored category at the 2026 Los Angeles International EVOO Competition. It also nabbed best of class and gold. Thirteen other Pasolivo entries scored awards ranging from best of class and gold for its basil flavor to silver for habanero.
Only Laconiko—produced in Trinisa, Greece—matched its performance, with both brands sharing the title of most-awarded global producer.
“This honor makes me extremely proud because it means our oils are being recognized on an international stage against brands that have been making olive oil for centuries,” said Marisa Bloch Gaytan, Pasolivo’s general manager and olive oil sommelier. “We grow our own olives, mill them on-site, and do all of the blending in-house, which means that all of our efforts to obtain top quality and excellence are paying off.”
The Los Angeles awards were followed in April by five more gold-medal wins at the 2026 New York International Olive Oil Competition, adding to Pasolivo’s more than 120 awards garnered since the Dirk family of Newport Beach and Irvine acquired the company in 2012.
As Pasolivo’s acclaim has grown since then, so too has the reputation of Gaytan, a Moorpark native who joined the company shortly after college and quickly shot up its ranks.
“Marisa began as the marketing manager and worked her way up to general manager, which speaks to both her dedication and her deep knowledge of the brand,” said Lorrie Dirk Brown, co-owner and marketing director.“Marisa has a deep, hands-on understanding of both the business and the craft, and that connection shows up in the final product.”
In both blending and running the company, Gaytan works closely with Brian Dirk, Brown’s brother, and alongside the family.
“That partnership has been instrumental in getting us where we are today,” Brown said.
Gaytan’s unique skillset as both general manager and master blender reflect her insatiable appetite for learning and improvement.
Already armed with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Cal Poly and an MBA from Brandman University in Irvine, she also obtained a level 2 olive oil sommelier certification from Olive Oil Times Education Lab in Campbell.
“In order to be able to sell olive oil, you need to understand it and know how to properly taste it,” she said. “I went to several educational courses from various organizations. Once I started taking courses, I became even more intent on expanding my knowledge of this industry.
“Through learning from the person who was initially doing our blending combined with my education, I found that I was starting to develop a good palate of my own. Plus, it makes it easier when the oil we produce is fantastic.
“The Dirks decided to give me an opportunity to blend our oils on my own. I created the blends and sent them to the Dirks to taste, and we all loved them. Once they received awards in competition that year, we knew we were onto something.”
She continued doing all the blending for Pasolivo, eventually becoming the general manager.
“I started to expand my knowledge into orchard practices, taking courses in pruning, irrigation, sustainability, etc. I also worked closely with our crop advisor to learn about properly managing the orchard,” she said.
Today, Gaytan oversees nearly every aspect of the company, culminating in the final product—with output ranging from 4,000 to 8,000 gallons annually, depending on environmental factors.
“After harvest, I taste through all of the varieties with our miller and we give each oil a score based on the three attributes of olive oil—fruitiness, bitterness, and pungency,” she explained. “Once the tasting is complete, I get to work on starting to create our blends. We always have specific profiles we try to meet—mild, medium, and robust. Also, if there’s a variety that truly stands out, we will release our Il Singolo, which is our single-variety olive oil.”
Current flavors include Tuscan—the company’s best-selling Italian variety—lemon, classic, red jalapeño, basil, and more.
Gaytan takes a shot of Tuscan in the morning for wellness and utilizes it in the kitchen for just about everything, including marinating and tenderizing meat.
Her future plans include continuing to train her palate with worldwide tastings, tracking new studies on health benefits, growing her business acumen, and bringing Pasolivo to new heights.
“I also want to continue to give back to this wonderful community,” she said. “I currently am a volunteer for the Cuesta College Agriculture advisory committee. We welcome students to the ranch each semester for a tour and tasting to show them what we do. As a Cal Poly graduate, I am a firm believer in the ‘learn by doing’ model.
“I have been so fortunate to have had so much support from various people in the community over the years, and I just hope to be able to pay it forward.” Δ
Lemon olive oil cake
From Pasolivo / serves 10
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup Pasolivo lemon olive oil
• 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice (roughly 1 lemon)
• 1 cup cake flour, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Pasolivo kosher flake sea salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• powdered icing sugar
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a cake pan.
2. Using a mixer, beat eggs and sugar on high until the mixture is fluffy and has doubled in volume (between 5 to 7 minutes mixing time).
3. While the eggs and sugar are mixing, in a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold olive oil and lemon juice into the egg mixture. Fold flour mixture into the wet mixture until the flour disappears. Do not overmix.
4. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and gently tap on a solid surface to remove some of the larger bubbles.
5. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the top is a light brown and a toothpick entered in the center comes out clean.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
7. Gently run a butter knife along the edges of the cake to release it from the pan and continue cooling on a wired rack. Dust with powdered icing sugar before serving.
Flavor writer Cherish Whyte loves Pasolivo’s light and versatile lemon flavor. She’ll be adding it to everything at cwhyte@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in May 14-21, 2026.
