The Founder
Nicholas Dellaportas

“Our story begins where my childhood memories still linger — in the olive groves of Kefalonia, where family, food, and nature were always one.”

Born and raised in London to Greek parents, Nicholas grew up surrounded by tradition — and food was always at the heart of it. His yiayia cooked wonderful Greek meals every day, filling their home with the smells of lemon, olive oil, and herbs. Nicholas and his sisters were always in the kitchen helping: baking cakes, preparing pastry for tiropitas, or setting the table for long family lunches that felt endless in the best way.

Every summer, from the age of two, Nicholas would return to Greece — sent to Kefalonia the day after school finished and only returning the day before it began again. Those summers were everything: mornings spent swimming in the sea, afternoons walking to a small piece of land near Lixouri to pick figs, pears, and grapes under the hot sun. Food was at the centre of every moment — from yiayia’s pastitsio to nona’s (as they still say in the Ionian Islands) slow-cooked rabbit kokkinisto. The smells from the kitchen are still etched in his memory.

In 2015, after his father passed away, Nicholas and his sisters inherited the family land — untouched for over 70 years. He made it his mission to restore it to its former glory. What began as a dream to one day open a restaurant on the island evolved into something deeper: a commitment to rejuvenate the land and share its incredible produce with the world.

Five years ago, with his cousin Vladis — whose family runs the renowned Sklavos Winery — they began by pruning the ancient olive trees back to their core, giving them a new life. They’ve since planted five acres of vineyards and created a kitchen garden on once-forgotten soil. From this effort, Ionian Gold was born — a small-batch, single-estate olive oil that embodies purity, craft, and connection.

But this is only the beginning. Nicholas’ vision extends beyond olive oil — to create a place where people can experience the land and its produce firsthand. The dream is to develop a small agrotourism project on the family estate, complete with an eco-sustainable villa where guests can stay among the vines, gardens, and olive trees — a place that brings together food, nature, and community.

Join us on this journey to bring our family land back to life, and to share the taste of Greece with the world.