I love olive oil and use it most days of the week to cook dinner or drizzle over my dishes. However, after speaking to chefs recently about the best type of olive oil to buy, I’ve learnt that not all olive oil is made equal. Regular olive oil has a milder flavour, a higher smoke point and can usually be bought from most supermarkets for less than £5. Extra virgin olive oil, also known as EVOO, is better quality, unrefined, cold-pressed and not exposed to any chemicals or heat treatment.
When choosing olive oil, it’s important to factor in not just the price but also the bottle it comes in. EVOO and regular olive oil in opaque or dark green bottles are likely to last longer as they are not exposed to light, heat or oxygen, which can impact their flavour, quality and health benefits.
It’s also best to choose olive oil from a specific origin. If an olive oil label has vague origins, such as ‘EU and Non-EU blends’, it may contain low-quality oils that are less healthy and cheaper.
A good-quality EVOO should have a protected designation of origin (PDO), which is a certification that states the oil has been produced within a specific region and pressed using traditional methods.
So, how do you choose a supermarket olive oil that is both good quality and reasonably priced?
I decided to ask executive chef Ioannis Grammenos, the world’s first Meatologist™ and the culinary mastermind behind Heliot Steak House, which olive oils he would choose.
As a Greek chef, Ioannis grew up with olive oil at the centre of everything. He explained: “My grandfather tended our family’s trees on the hillside above the village and, each autumn, we rose before dawn to lay nets and pick the olives by hand.
“By midday, we were at the mill, watching the first cold-pressed stream run vivid green and cloudy.”
After the olives were cold-pressed, they’d do a tasting with warm, fresh bread and a pinch of sea salt.
Today, Ioannis uses olive oil to cook steak, his go-to being Odysea Greek EVOO, which is produced from organically grown Koroneiki olives from the Chania region of northern Crete.
The EVOO’s herbaceous, peppery flavour profile lifts the beef’s sweetness and cuts through the fat without masking the meat’s natural flavour.
“It’s consistently good and easy to find in UK supermarkets, and it featured in Which?’s 2025 test,” Ioannis explained.
“I use a light film in a hot pan for the initial sear, I finish the rested steak with a fresh drizzle and a pinch of sea salt to bring those green, peppery notes forward when.”
Odysea Organic Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Crete costs £11 from Odysea for 500ml.
For cooking meat at home, he suggests either Odysea Organic Greek EVOO from Crete, Tesco’s Finest Sicilian PGI Italy, Single region Sicilian EVOO or Morrisons The Best Spanish Picual Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
He said the Tesco EVOO is a “good versatile house oil” while the Morrisons EVOO is “fruity with peppery notes and is really good value for every-day use.”
Morrisons The Best Spanish Picual Extra Virgin Olive Oil costs just £7 for 500ml and Tesco Finest Sicilian Extra Virgin Olive Oil costs £8.95 for 500ml.
For other cuts of steak, Ioannis will also use a Greek EVOO. However, he matches the oil’s intensity to the cut of the steak.
For example, for a fatty cut like ribeye, he uses a peppery Koroneiki Odysea Greek EVOO, while for a medium-marbled cut like sirloin, he will use a medium-fruity Greek EVOO.
He added that he still uses a Koroneiki EVOO, or he’ll go for a balanced blend with “enough herbaceous notes to complement the steak without overpowering.”
For leaner cuts like fillet or rump steak, he chooses a softer Greek EVOO such as a later-harvest Koroneiki or varieties like Athinolia/Manaki.
Ioannis added, “The secret is to keep the Greek olive oil light in the pan. You have to manage the heat of your pan to avoid the smoke or to burn the olive oil, and finish the rested steak with a teaspoon of Greek olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.”
Ioannis’ favourite olive oils: