Cooperation & Collaboration

In 2010, Joe Cerreta & Perry Rea created our Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt Chocolate Bars using Queen Creek Olive Mill extra virgin olive oil.

Partner Overview

Jim Cerreta Sr. learned the art of candy making in his father-in-law's factory in Ohio and passed the trade to his entire family. Four generations of the family now oversee production & operations of their delightful chocolates and candy products.

Joe Cerreta oversees production of Cerreta's freshly roasted nuts, taffy & cream centered chocolates, where he combines modern methods with old fashion candy making techniques to develop chocolate covered creams such as butter, maple, fudge or peppermint. Joe’s wife Marisa is the factory tour director and gives daily tours to the public of the family's chocolate factory in Glendale where her wonderful chocolate enthusiasm is contagious!

It’s the family's involvement and their time honored authentic handmade production methods that ensure the highest possible quality and homemade taste of every piece of Cerreta candy.

BLOSSOM-TO-BOTTLE PHILOSOPHY

All the grains from Hayden Flour Mills are grown in Arizona on small farms. Jeff & Emma work with chefs, farmers and conservationists to revive Arizona's local grain economy. Today, they grind heritage and ancient grains on an Austrian stonemill, afterwhich each bag of flour is milled fresh by their Master Miller.

PARTNER OVERVIEW

Hayden Flour Mills is devoted to stone milling heritage and ancient grains. Their flour is simply stone milled: an old-world process that allows the flavor and personality of the wheat to shine through. Some of their customers who had sworn off gluten (over-processed, bleached flours) for good, can enjoy their grains and flours without issue! Never bleached or enriched. Always fresh.

TRADE CERTIFICATIONS

Certifications: Chianti Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG)

COOPERATION & COLLABORATION

Food, wine and friendship are the common threads when rejoicing life. Enjoy Sanguineti's Chianti from the hills of Tuscany, and help celebrate Perry & Antonio's cooperative passion.

PARTNER OVERVIEW

A Tuscan through and through, Antonio Sanguineti began crafting wine at age sixteen on his family’s farm near Siena. Today, he’s known on both sides of the Atlantic as an energetic producer with a true zest for life. Having worked both as a winemaker and a consultant to dozens of producers over the course of his career, Antonio Sanguineti knows more about wine – and specifically Tuscan wine—than just about anyone else we know.

A decision was made while Antonio was still young and, in 1995, his family's Pagliarese estate wound up being sold. Despite his love of wine, Antonio was left without a vineyard. As he recalls it, “I owned the knowledge, but not the land.” Not to be deterred, he parlayed his expertise into consulting work, and began a series of partnerships which culminated in the creation of the Antonio Sanguineti brand.

Today, Antonio continues to work with friends to make each of his wines, combining expertise and top-pick grapes. Without the ongoing overhead of an estate, he’s able to produce truly outstanding wines for a modest price. These include his Nessun Dorma blend, predicated on rustic, old-vine Sangiovese from the Maremma; Morellino di Scansano, also cultivated near the southern Tuscan coastline; and his Chianti, made in the sun-drenched Val d’Orcia just outside of Montalcino.

Cooperation & Collaboration

The Queen Creek Olive Mill Kalamata Sandwich is Food Network-famous in no small part due to our collaboration with The Pork Shop to make salami with kalamata olives!

Partner Overview

The Pork Shop has been specializing in fresh pork products since it opened in 1979. Greg Combs, a third generation Arizona farmer, learned some butchering skills and sausage recipes to market his swine directly to consumers. Jason Corman, Greg's son-in-law, now manages the operations.

COOPERATION & COLLABORATION

Olive Blossoms produce a ton of pollen! The Queen Creek Olive Mill host bee hives from Valley Honey Co., and while they do help pollinate our trees, we love the Olive Blossom Honey they produce!

PARTNER OVERVIEW

Valley Honey Co. is a small beekeeping operation run by a fourth generation member of the agricultural community in the Valley of the sun area of Arizona. They keep many hives scattered throughout the valley to keep their honey truly local. Valley Honey's bees are fed and treated only with all natural essential oils and products. They do not heat, filter, or blend their honey to keep it in its raw state. This allows the natural enzymes and pollen particles to remain in the honey. As a result it is not uncommon to occasionally find a spec of wax or pollen in the honey.

TRADE CERTIFICATIONS

Certifications: Made in Italy, FDA / FSMA, Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance

COOPERATION & COLLABORATION

The Queen Creek Olive Mill's partnership with Pegaso Alimentari started with extra virgin olive oil and now extends across balsamic Vinegar of Modena, Pasta, Flavored Salts, and more!

PARTNER OVERVIEW

The first olive oil produced from Arizona-grown olives was milled in cooperation with Critelli Olive Oil under the direction of Perry Rea. After working for more than twenty years in olive oil production and foodservice at their restaurant in Solano County CA, Nicola and Caroline Critelli decided to launch a company in Italy that would meet the needs of the Italian Restaurant Industry overseas. It became reality in 2006, when Pegaso Alimentari was established in Sarnico, in the province of Bergamo. Their new headquarters are now located in Franciacorta, in the land of the sparkling wine which bears its name.

Cooperation & Collaboration

In cooperation with the Corning Olive Oil Company, the Queen Creek Olive Mill is proud to introduce a very special, personally handcrafted, limited edition, late harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil. With the aroma of golden apples, a buttery-floral start, and a mild peppery finish this oil is a must in every kitchen. Beautifully delicate!

Partner Overview

Corning Olive Oil Company is a family-owned company, run by Ray & Kathy Rogers. Together, they have a combined experience of 27 years in the California olive oil industry. Their mill and operations are based in the Northern Sacramento Valley community of Corning, California, the “Olive Capital of the World”.

Ray, Kathy, and their grandson, Robert, pride themselves on quality and customer service above all. In keeping with that tradition, Corning Olive Oil Company purchases the freshest, hand-picked California olives available. By closely adhering to the California Health and Safety Codes in all their production practices, they are able to produce an extra-virgin oil of exceptionally fine quality that has gained the acceptance of gourmet chefs with it’s smooth, fruity and naturally delicious flavor and beautiful color.

BLOSSOM-TO-BOTTLE PHILOSOPHY

Farm | Mill | Bake is a program by which Nick and Mediterra Bakehouse oversees every step in the process of making high-quality artisanal loaves with heritage grains for their Pittsburgh Arizona bakeries. Read below for more info.

COOPERATION & COLLABORATION

The Queen Creek Olive Mill supplies Mediterra with the olives for production of olive loaves, including olive baguettes sold at the Mill!

PARTNER OVERVIEW

In 2001, Nick founded his Pittsburgh bakery, Mediterra Bakehouse. Eventually, he recruited the help of his children: Mike, Anthony, Nicole, and Nick. Mediterra's mission is to take one of the oldest and simplest forms of food known to man and perfect it. To take flour, water, and salt and pursue perfection.”

For many of their breads, the baking process begins in Arizona, where they grow organic heritage red fife grain on 35 acres of land, using no conditioners or extenders. Once the grain is harvested, the entire milling process is done in-house using stone-ground milling equipment. Milling their grain the old fashioned way makes a huge difference in the flavor of the bread and its ability to retain the maximum amount of nutrients.

Farm | Mill | Bake
Nick, along with Noah Hiscox, have been on a mission sine 2015 to achieve the perfect heritage grain for artisan bread baking. Noah, who’s been farming 3,000 acres in Pinal County, Arizona for over 40 years, is an excellent steward of the land by using irrigation ports, concrete ditching, constant crop rotation and sustainable, organic farming methods.

After extensive research, Nick purchased Mediterra's first mill: stone-ground and constructed in Austria. With a very slow rotation rate per minute, this mill resulted in greater nutrient retention. Having outgrown the Austrian mill, in 2021, we traded it in for a New American Stone Mill capable of milling a variety of grains.

In October 2015, Farm | Mill | Bake was launched by Mediterra, alongside alongside Noah, and Mediterra's very own red fife heritage grain was planted on 35 acres of contracted land. In the summer of 2016, they celebrated their first harvest.

Today, red fife flour is used for the majority of production. Our whole wheat red fife flour contains 100% of the vitamins and minerals naturally occurring in wheat. Red Fife is a heritage variety of hard red spring wheat, and has been grown in Canada since as far back as 1840. With high protein and a complex, nutty and sometimes sweet flavor, this heritage grain flour is ideal for baking bread.

TRADE CERTIFICATIONS

Patrick O'Malley is trained as a Roast Master, Tea Sommelier, and Licensed Q Arabica Grader.

COOPERATION & COLLABORATION

Patrick & Infusion Coffee operate a specialty coffee cafe at the Queen Creek Olive Mill where they also host classes to educate people about high-quality coffee & tea.

PARTNER OVERVIEW

The founder of Infusion Coffee & Tea Crafters, Patrick is only the 43rd individual in the world to receive a diploma from the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA). His accolades include being awarded the Passionate Educator Award by The Specialty Coffee Guild and recognition as the distinguished Education Coordinator for the SCA.

Infusion's mission is simple: to allow you, their guest, to truly experience quality coffee and tea, however you like it. Whether you prefer it bold, light or sweet, are passing through or settling in, they make sure your drink is exactly what the moment calls for. Their expert staff is committed to their craft and will share their knowledge to anyone who is eager to learn the story of each and every cup.

Infusion's original location in Tempe boasts a state-of-the-art SCA-certified lab, 1 of only 31 such labs in existenced. It is fully equipped with the tools needed for our professional coffee roasting company to operate, including an SCA-certified water system.