Discover the world of olive oil at St. George’s Market with Biostore
Posted: 05 August '09 by Niall
Find out more at biostore.ie
I remember the first time we realised that the world of olive oil was more complex and enjoyable than the litre bottles of oil from your local supermarket. At Locanda Locatelli in London our waiter had a menu of oils, all with different flavours and aromas – it was a revelation! We raved about the various olive oils for days afterwards but, returning to Belfast, I didn’t think that we’d get the chance to continue our exploration any further. Well, it has been a while – but help is here at last.
A recent trip to St. George’s Market in Belfast unearthed a real gem. Biostore have a range of olive oils from the regions around the Mediterranean – Sicilian, Italian, Greek and Middle Eastern. The differences in the flavours are truly amazing, and you’re fully encouraged to sample the different oils. Having tried them all I can safely say that we prefer the Foggia (fruity, but with a real pepper-y kick) and the Sicilian (a nutty oil with some lemon and herbal undertones). Once decanted into your bottle, the oil develops a thick layer of sediment – a sure sign that the oil is of the best possible quality – extra virgin from the first few pressings of the olives.
But what makes the whole experience of buying your oil in this way even better is the stall-owners enthusiasm for his product, and the fact that Ronan clearly enjoys talking to people. To be fair, it’s completely reciprocal – you do tend to day-dream as he describes trekking across the Med, unearthing small co-ops of local farmers and buying their olive oil – and the strange and startling sights along the way!
At £10 a litre (less if you’re returning the bottles) the price really is competitive, being less than we’ve found elsewhere – and the oil is simply delicious. The flavours can be pronounced or subtle, depending on the oil that you’re tasting – but it’s always good. We’ve used the oil for drizzling over foccaccia and ciabatta as appetisers at several parties, and it never fails to impress.
The process of tasting olive oil has as many peculiarities and rituals associated with it as has wine – in the next few weeks we’ll do a step-by-step guide through Ronan’s whole stock with tasting notes and a guide to sampling and savouring your olive oil.
So call down to St. George’s Market some Saturday and, as your explore what the market has to offer, set aside 10 or 20 minutes and to speak to Ronan and try his olive oil.. you won’t regret it!
Contact Biostore
Biostore
81 Upper Damolly Road,
Newry,
Northern Ireland
BT34 1QW
Tel: 02830252757
Mob: 07792947845
W: www.biostore.ie
BioStore now have a Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Biostoreie/172810792751919
Tags: belfast, biostore, olive oil, st georges market
Categories: Local Food Heroes
Really LOVE Biostore’s olive oil. He used to sell it in the market in Newry, but sadly due to lack of council support the market is in reality defunct. Ronan delivered the last few bottles of oil to me on his way past our house after I phoned him using the number on the website to contact him, but now the website is “under construction” I have no way of getting in touch and I can’t get to Belfast easily…if anyone has a number for him I’d be grateful if they would get in touch.
The biostore website is back up and running. The contact numbers are:
Phone: 028 3025 2757
Mobile: 077 9294 7845
There is also a facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Biostoreie/172810792751919
Hi Jonny,
Thanks for the update!