Talking travel & olive oil: A chat with La Española’s Australian Voice
2020-10-27
We spoke with Felicity, our community manager in Australia.
This month, we are wrapping up our interview series with a few of the faces of La Española Olive Oil Australia. We hope you’ve enjoyed meeting some members of the team that brings the best Spanish olive oil to Australian tables.
We spoke with Felicity, the Spanish olive oil brand’s community manager in Australia.
The Melbourne local is the voice behind our social media and blog platforms, and is proudly waving the La Española flag from down under!
Hi Felicity, tell us a bit about yourself and what your role is within La Española Australia?
Hi! My name is Felicity and I’m La Española’s Australian Community Manager. I am a born and bred Melburnian, which is tough at the moment with the world’s longest lockdown here still ongoing. I’ve travelled extensively, and have lived in Cambodia and the UK as well. When I returned to Melbourne, I became a freelance copywriter. I have a journalism degree but love copywriting.
La Española got in touch asking if I’d like to work for them in 2017 and as they say… the rest is history. It was almost fate. I plan and manage all of La Española’s social media, website and blog copy for their Aussie platforms. It’s truly unbelievable how much I’ve learnt about olive oil in just a few years. I’d say I’m close to an expert!
What’s your favourite part of your role with La Española?
I love coming up with new social media content, writing food blogs and seeing new people discover La Española across Australia. It’s made me so proud to be part of the team, and being their Australian community manager is probably my proudest achievement as a freelancer. I also love interacting with the team in Spain. They are so easygoing, efficient, fun and inspiring - the distance doesn’t seem so far between us when we talk and email! It feels like a real family!
Is travel and food a major part of your life?
Yes! It’s actually my entire life, technically. I’m a travel and food writer, so any time I’m writing I’m writing about one or the other! I write travel guides for a number of international clients, my main focus being Europe, Australia and Asia. I write and create content for La Española Australia.
I always need to be doing something or working on a new project. At the start of this lockdown in Australia in March, I started a podcast focusing on people who have disappeared while travelling abroad. It’s called Unknown Passage, and connecting with families of the people I cover as well as listeners has really made me proud of what I’ve been able to achieve in a relatively short time.
What is your earliest memory involving food?
My Mum is a great cook, as was my late Gran. My Gran was good at everything. I remember her so vividly, standing in the kitchen and making something delicious. She was so good at baking, my Mum used to joke she tried but couldn’t manage what Gran did so effortlessly. The smells of Anzac biscuits, yoyo’s and raspberry droplets emanating from the kitchen is something I’ll always remember. My Gramps used to send me up to the local bakery for “cream cakes” when I got there after school.
At home, every night Mum made something different and delicious. Dinner was always ready right on 6pm. She was so busy, but even my school lunches were like a work of art. Unfortunately, I don’t have half the patience or skill for cooking and baking as the women in my family.
Have you been to Spain?
I have! I visited Spain on a whim when I was living in the UK for two years. It was so easy to travel to Spain, Italy or even Prague for a long weekend. I flew to Barcelona solo with a day’s notice. I didn’t have any plans except to see Gaudi’s work. I spent four days just walking and eating. I saw all of Gaudi’s work, and I sat eating lunch every day looking at the Sagrada Familia. I met some Germans in my hostel and we went for tapas and Spanish guitar shows at night. It was one of the best impulse decisions I’ve ever made!
What did you eat in Spain?
Food is one of the main joys of travelling, and I’ve never been able to find Spanish food at all like the Spanish food I had in Spain. My first paella in Spain was late at night on my first evening there. They eat late there, and I still remember them bringing a piping hot paella out in its pan. It was unbelievable. I’ve had paella all over the world before and since then, and it’s never even a fraction of the quality that you can have anywhere in Spain.
I also ate tapas and drank Estrella beer. I love enjoying local beers when I travel, and Estrella is one of my favourites. Oh, and Spanish hot chocolate is like in other parts of Europe. Thick and decadent - amazing!
What is your favourite way to enjoy olive oil?
I use olive oil in all my cooking, but my favourite way to use it is drizzled over a summer salad. It’s warming up here in Australia and I’ve been going through La Española’s Mild EVOO like no tomorrow. Salad is nothing without it. I’ve also started having olive oil on toast instead of margarine or butter. I never even knew that was possible before working with La Española.
I also use a lot of olive oil in my bathroom. I use it to remove wax residue - it’s magic. And I make a natural brown sugar body scrub with olive oil. It takes two minutes to make, smells divine and leaves your skin so soft.
What is next for La Española Australia?
Our social media content is so lively and fresh, and we will continue to grow our customer base across Australia. Expect lots of inspiring recipes, giveaways, olive oil information and educational blogs. We love sharing the dishes our customers have created with La Española Olive Oil, and regularly share them on our Instagram!
La Española Olive Oil is sold by our exclusive stockist, Coles, nationwide. Browse the range today and stock up on the best olive oil for Aussie home cooks.
