From Corporate Careers to Culinary Growth: The Rise of Olive & Fig
AI-generated image · Bay Street Wire
Founded by a couple who left executive recruitment and wealth management, the Toronto-based catering business has scaled from home-made grazing boards to serving major corporate clients.
What began as a serendipitous meeting in a downtown Toronto office in 2015 has evolved into a significant presence in the city's food scene. According to blogTO, George Stanchev and Olivia Petrou transitioned from corporate careers in wealth management and executive recruitment to launch Olive & Fig in September 2020.
The venture started around 2018 when Petrou began creating elaborate grazing boards inspired by Australian trends. Stanchev, despite having no formal culinary background, joined as an unofficial sous-chef. The business model pivoted during the pandemic to offer delivery-based grazing boxes to maintain social connections, a move that blogTO reports was an extraordinary success.
Today, Olive & Fig has scaled its operations beyond individual charcuterie boxes to include four-foot and six-foot grazing boards, salads, and corporate lunches. The company now operates out of headquarters in Etobicoke and employs a professional kitchen staff, including a head chef and sous-chef with experience at Toronto establishments such as Sofia Yorkville, Cluny, and Bisha.
This growth is reflected in the company's client list. blogTO reports that Olive & Fig now serves thousands of individual customers and major corporate entities, including Canadian Tire, Mejuri, Pinterest, and Google.