Dr. Richard Gawel

Dr Richard Gawel has judged in over 30 national and international EVOO competitions including the Australian and New Zealand Nationals, the Los Angeles International, Sol D’ Oro (Verona) and Olives Japan. Richard trained and headed the first Southern Hemisphere taste panel recognized by the International Olive Council. He was the inaugural lecturer in sensory science at the University of Adelaide, and later taught principles of food and wine matching at the Le Cordon Bleu culinary school. He has authored several peer-reviewed papers on the bitterness and pungency of phenolic compounds and on the consistency of expert tasters in judging situations. He currently is a consultant taster and blender for the Australian olive industry and conducts full time research on taste active polyphenols. He holds several degrees from Australian universities: BSc Adelaide-Roseworthy, Graduate Diploma in Wine, Dip.Ed. Adelaide, PhD Deakin University at Geelong, Victoria.