Cooking enthusiasts and olive oil aficionados are invited to join food professionals from around the world June 21-23 at UC Davis for an international conference exploring the best production practices, sensory qualities and culinary possibilities for the highest quality extra virgin olive oil.

“Beyond Extra Virgin,” the largest conference on olive-oil excellence ever held in North America, is designed for chefs, journalists, specialty retailers, food-service management executives, olive-oil producers, sensory scientists and anyone with a serious interest in cooking. Co-sponsored by the UC Davis Olive Center and The Culinary Institute of America, it will include two days at UC Davis and a third day at the institute’s Greystone campus in the Napa Valley.

The term “extra virgin” applies to olive oil that is the natural product of the olive, processed without any heat, solvents or other oils. The grade allows for a wide range of quality, including oil that is bland in flavor. The conference will focus on the top tier of extra virgin quality.

During the three-day conference, participants will be instructed about the critical control points — from harvest to storage — that advance or undermine flavors in extra virgin olive oil. They also will experience how leading chefs, including Paul Bartolotta, John Ash, Deborah Madison and Renato Morisco, are melding the modern with the ancient to highlight and even re-invent the best of these flavors.

The conference will begin at 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 21, with all sessions held in Freeborn Hall. On Tuesday, June 23, the participants will travel by chartered bus to The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone.

A complete agenda and registration forms for the conference are provided online by the UC Davis Olive Center at http://www.olivecenter.ucdavis.edu/news-events/events/beyond-extra-virgin-2009. Registration is $495 per person.

Helping to coordinate the conference are Associazione TREE, a nonprofit organization devoted to the improvement of olive oil; Accademia dei Georgofili in Florence, Italy; and the California Institute for Food and Agricultural Research at UC Davis.

The UC Davis Olive Center is one of four research and outreach centers in the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science.