Italian Chilli Oil

Italian chilli oil — olive oil first. chilli next. herbs on the finish. The kind of bottle that turns “we’ll just do something quick” into something you’d serve to people.

This is a fire meeting tradition, minus the travel-brochure language. It’s not “liquid gold”, it’s just good olive oil made more useful: warmed with sun-dried chilli and lifted with Italian herbs, so even plain food stops tasting like an afterthought.

We start with extra virgin olive oil as the base, then let dried chilli flakes bring a steady, sun-baked heat. Garlic gives it the savoury backbone. Herbs do the aromatic work in the background — not loud, not perfumed, just enough to make it smell like you’ve done more than you actually have.

Use it when food needs a point of view:

• Pizza (especially the last slice)
• Pasta (pomodoro, aglio e olio, anything with parmesan)
• Antipasto boards (olives, prosciutto, roasted capsicum)
• Tomatoes + burrata + salt
• Three-cheese toasties (unofficial, but correct)
• Grilled prawns, calamari, roast chicken, beans

Heat: medium. Texture: smooth oil. Best first use: pizza or pasta.

Mr Chilli ANZ 2025 — 3rd place

Made in small batches in our Central Coast kitchen (NSW, Australia).