When I walk into my local Erewhon, I’m immediately overwhelmed with choices. Bougie brands abound, vegan and flourless remakes of my favorite dishes fill the shelves. And the line for the Hailey Bieber Rhode Erewhon Smoothie stretches far past the smoothie bar. When I push my way past the throng to the grocery aisles, I get to browse the selections. Healthy snacks, kombucha by the gallon, and a whole lot of olive oil.

Olive oil is slowly becoming a luxury good. And when I saw a giant display shelf of olive oil smack bang in the middle of Erewhon, I knew it had reached celebrity status. Regular olive oil is out, fancy olive oil is in.

Skeptics, I understand. My first thought was: why overspend on olive oil? I’ve always bought my olive oil in bulk from the local grocery store, and that’s how I liked it. To me, it was just a means to an end. A cooking necessity. And for someone who hates cooking, I do the bare minimum and not much else, thank you.

But then my eyes were opened. One of my Caraway-loving, Emily Mariko-worshipping friends gifted me a set of Brightland Olive Oils. Since then, my life has completely changed.

The first recipe I tried was the perennial pasta dish for people who cannot cook but act as they do — spicy vodka rigatoni. This superstar pasta is low-effort but high-reward. It’s simple, delicious, and endlessly iterated. Carbone’s version is a Deuxmoi favorite. Gigi Hadid’s version went viral on TikTok. Emma Chamberlain also has an internet-favorite version. And though I’ve made this recipe a hundred times in a hundred ways, I was intrigued by this version recently featured on Brightland’s Instagram.

The result: I was an instant convert.

Never have I ever had a bite like that from my own kitchen. I’m used to my food tasting either fine or good. I’ve accepted that I’ll never be Carmy from The Bear. But upon my first Brightland bite, I had thought, “wait, how did I make this?” The reason for this improvement was obvious — my Brightland Chili-Infused Olive Oil.

It’s like that scene in Ratatouille when Remy takes a bite of the strawberry and the cheese together. Symphonies. Fireworks. And all I need to achieve this is to use quality olive oil. This will certainly get me to cook at home more often. 2023 resolutions: off to a great start.

For a moment I thought it’s too good to be true. But I’ve been cooking with Brightland for weeks now and each meal is one taste sensation after another. My friends who switched to premium olive oil long before me are quite fond of recounting their life-changing experiences. The latest addition to my sublime cooking stash: Wonder Valley Olive Oil.

When I think about it, it makes sense. Like investing in good cookware, investing in the building blocks of food prep will make your cooking endeavors much easier and tastier. This is true for novice chefs and cooking maestros alike.

So, whether you love or hate cooking, you need better olive oil. With sleek packaging, it will instantly become the chicest item in your kitchen.

Here are some of the most sensational, artisanal olive oils around:

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