About Fil Bucchino
Fil Bucchino is a Florence-born, Toronto-based extra virgin olive oil expert whose work spans more than two decades across olive oil quality, education, and cultural advocacy.
His commitment to olive oil began not as a commercial pursuit but as a sensory and cultural one, shaped by time in the groves and mills of Italy and by a belief that extra virgin olive oil, when treated with seriousness and restraint, carries identity, place, and meaning.
Fil founded Abandoned Grove to restore abandoned olive groves and produce extra virgin olive oil within the natural limits of land and season. Through this work, more than 5,000 olive trees in the hills surrounding Florence have been brought back into care.
Beyond production, Fil has played a defining role in elevating the quality of olive oil to public and institutional conversation. He co-produced and hosted Obsessed with Olive Oil, the first feature-length documentary dedicated to olive oil quality, and The World of Olive Oil, a PBS project that helped reframe olive oil as a product of land, craft, and accountability.
His work has led to collaborations with the Chianti Classico Olio DOP Consortium, where he has contributed to conversations around quality, identity, and place. He has worked with the Italian Trade Commission, Slow Food, the Mediterranean Round Table, and multiple embassies and cultural institutions.
Fil is a frequent educator and speaker, leading master classes and lectures for universities, chefs, and institutions, including Yale University and Ferrandi Paris. His perspective has been featured in The New York Times and The Toronto Star, reflecting broader recognition of his work at the intersection of food, culture, and sustainability.
In 2023, he was named Olive Oil Personality of the Year by the Italian Association of Olive Oil Restaurants (AIRO) and received the Pentola d’Oro Buonissimo Award from the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Ontario for his contributions to gastronomy and craft.
Fil is the only Canadian listed in the Italian Directory of Virgin and Extra Virgin Olive Oil Experts, a certified member of the ANAPOO tasting panel, and one of the few North Americans included in the ONAOO International Register. In 2017, ONAOO appointed him to represent its first international chapter outside Italy.
With an academic background in biomedical sciences and a formative past as a professional musician, Fil brings a multidisciplinary perspective to his work, grounded in sensory rigour, patience, and respect for natural limits.
Abandoned Grove is not a personal brand. It is a system designed to protect land, elevate quality, and endure beyond any one individual.
