Bring Chef-Loved Ingredients Home: Corto Olive Co. and Stanislaus Foods Unveil the Ultimate Chef’s Essentials Kit

Lodi, Calif., April 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Cortopassi family, owners of culinary cornerstones Corto Olive Co. and Stanislaus Foods, today announced the launch of the Corto x Stanislaus Chef’s Essentials Kit, available for $85 at Corto’s site and Amazon. Designed to elevate home cooking by giving consumers easy access to the same fresh, restaurant-quality ingredients preferred by professional chefs, the kit features two farm-to-table ingredients.

• Corto TRULY® Extra Virgin Olive Oil (1 x 500ml): A vibrant, full-bodied olive oil with bright floral notes, crafted from olives harvested at peak freshness in the Fall.
• Stanislaus Piccolo^®Datterini Baby Plum Tomatoes (4 x 16oz jars): Sweet, handpicked baby plum tomatoes with a delicate, melt-in-your-mouth texture, rarely available to consumers and highly sought after by chefs.

“For years, chefs have trusted Corto olive oil as a cornerstone of their cooking, and we’re thrilled to share it with home cooks,” said Tom Cortopassi Co-Owner of both Corto and Stanislaus. “Our limited-edition Piccolo^® Datterini Baby Plum Tomatoes are also an exquisite labor of love which we previously only gifted to select restaurateurs. They shine in simple, fresh recipes.”

In today’s busy world, the secret to simple, exceptionally flavorful meals is a well-stocked pantry, and the Chef’s Essentials Kit was designed with this in mind. According to a recent survey by The Kitchn, 40% of cooking experts identified “pantry-friendly” as a top cooking trend, aligning with the 76% of home cooks who prioritize recipes that use ingredients they already have on hand (source). This versatile kit provides home cooks with the same key ingredients preferred by top chefs, along with Cortopassi family recipes, inspiring them to create everything from silky tomato sauces and elevated pasta to simple, flavorful bruschetta with ease.

“As a pizzaiola, I’m surrounded by tons of tomato options but I am always searching for unique, fresh and the most flavorful ingredients that alone can speak for themselves. Corto olive oil and Stanislaus tomatoes have been staples in my restaurants for years,” Chef Nicole Bean, Owner of Pizaro’s Pizza Napoletana. “The Piccolo® Datterini Baby Plum Tomatoes are irresistibly sweet, vibrant, and when paired with Corto’s TRULY® Extra Virgin Olive Oil, they create the perfect foundation for so many dishes. I love snacking on them with a kiss of salt or by themselves. When preparing meals at home or for the pizzeria I’ll add them to make a pan sauce for pasta or hand crush them for a textural and zippy bite to finish a pizza. This kit offers home chefs the elevated quality they’re looking for and deserve.”

As owners of both Stanislaus and Corto Olive Co., the Cortopassi family has long specialized in creating premium California-grown tomatoes and olive oil for discerning restaurateurs inspired by their Italian roots and elevated through innovation. This limited-edition kit reflects their dedication to quality and fresh, flavorful ingredients. For over 80 years, Stanislaus has specialized in fresh-packing premium tomatoes for America’s finest Italian restaurants and pizzerias, while Corto has elevated olive oil through innovative techniques like cold-extraction and FlavorLock packaging.

Follow Corto on Instagram and Facebook and Stanislaus on Instagram and Facebook.

Purchase the kit for $85 on Corto’s site and Amazon.

ABOUT CORTO OLIVE CO.
Rooted in its Italian heritage, inspired by innovation, and committed to its values of transparency and quality, Corto has been producing the highest quality, freshest, 100% California olive oil since 2005. Made from beautifully fresh olives grown in California groves, the oil is expertly blended by Corto’s Master Miller to achieve a stunningly bright flavor profile that professional chefs have relied on for over a decade to enhance their favorite dishes. Corto currently offers consumers two award-winning oil varieties to fit every type of cooking: TRULY® Extra Virgin Olive Oil and La Padella® Sauté Oil, a blend of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, rice bran, avocado, and grapeseed oils crafted specifically for high-performance sautéing.

ABOUT STANISLAUS FOOD PRODUCTS

For more than 80 years, our family-owned company has set the restaurant industry gold standard for fresh-packing consistently superior Italian-style tomatoes and sauces specifically for North America’s finest Italian restaurants and pizzerias, including premium leading brands like Alta Cucina® Naturale Style Plum Tomatoes and Valoroso® Robusto Style Pear Tomatoes.

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