Our story began in 2005 when a young Andrew Strong -- hopeless romantic, lifelong musician, and brilliant human rights attorney -- fell in love with Kosovo. Before embarking on a decades-long career defending Kosovar freedom in the international courts of The Hague, Andrew lived in Prishtinë, learned to speak Albanian, traveled extensively and became deeply knowledgeable about the region’s rich history and culture. This included southern Albania's stunning Ionian coastline. Known as Illyria in Ancient Greece and Rome, this region has been producing olive oil for over 2,500 years. 

When it was finally time to settle down and marry the love of his life (me), Andrew moved to East Hampton, NY and started this olive oil company as a way to keep this beloved part of the world close, share its beauty with the people he loved in the States, and provide a meaningful livelihood to farmers and families close to his heart in Albania. We're a true family business -- I sketched the label by hand, my sister did our marketing, and my mom frequently cameos as a delivery person. On the Albanian side of things is dear friend and partner Alban Rafuna in Prishtinë, whose contagious smile and huge heart make this project a joy and without whom it would not be possible.

Because political and ethnic strife has kept Albania closed to the outside world for so long, its extraordinary olive oil has been unavailable outside of Albania until this point. Illyria Olive Oil thus has the exciting distinction of being the first ever Albanian olive oil you are able to taste in the United States! The oil itself comes from Vlorë, pressed each fall in a state-of-the-art, EU and USDA Organic certified mill. Our high-polyphenol, 100% organic Kalinjot olives are grown and harvested on neighboring family farms where the trees grow wild and are often hundreds of years old. Each family may own half a dozen trees which they have tended for generations. Olives are hand-picked and then carried - often on foot or by mule - to the press where they are carefully cleaned and cold-extracted the same day that they leave the tree. Since 2013, our press has won multiple gold medals in Italian, Croatian, and U.S. International Tasting Competitions and "Best Domestic Oil" in the National Albanian Tasting Competitions. We are proud of those results!

Three kids and many life changes later, I feel very lucky to carry on this special company in Andrew's memory, and am very proud to share this healthy and delicious olive oil with you.

Thank you for being here. Enjoy! (Gëzuar!)

Rachael