Ángel Nieto loves driving... olive oil

Every morning before he drizzles olive oil on his toast, Ángel admires the colour of the "liquid gold" and its fragrant aroma: "You don't just enjoy the oil with your taste-buds, but with all of your senses," he says. Ever since he can remember, the driver has been a fan of the typical Andalusian "olive oil on bread" breakfast. The 45-year-old has 25 years of experience in the transport sector, of which the last 18 have been exclusively dedicated to international long-distance haulage. "I love the feeling of freedom when I'm on the road," he says. Currently, he works for Transruiz based in Seville. The company is a specialist in the transport of liquid foodstuffs – predominantly olive oil. Ángel is really lucky to be able to transport his favourite foodstuff: "I feel like a true ambassador for olive oil," he explains.

– Ángel Nieto

Indulgence for all of the senses.

Ángel transports olive oil all around Europe, particularly to France, Germany and Italy. "For me, olive oil is more than just a salad dressing," he affirms. With an Actros 1848 equipped with a GigaSpace cab, Ángel loads up extra-virgin olive oil at various foodstuffs co-operatives and manufacturers. The huge container: a 25-tonne single-chamber tank, equipped with a separate compressor and temperature control system. Every now and again, Ángel also drives nationally within Spain. Yesterday, for example, he was in Almería to pick up 25 tonnes of extra-virgin olive oil, due for delivery today in Seville at the Goya bottling facilities.

Before dropping off his load, Ángel follows a strict protocol: he climbs on to the tanker and removes a couple of oil samples, which he hands over to cellar master Antonio Crespo for analysis. The latter then sends the samples off to the lab, where the purity and quality are both analysed. Subsequently, Ángel gets the go-ahead to unload the 25 tonnes of oil which Goya then stocks in readiness for bottling.

Liquid gold.

One of Ángel's main routes starts in Dos Hermanas (Seville). It is there where the facilities of a foodstuffs co-operative are located. Here, he loads up with oil to take on to Hamburg or Dresden. At lunchtime, even when he's on the road, he treats himself to a salad – and yes, of course, he dresses it with extra-virgin olive oil! "The taste just puts me right in the middle of the beautiful landscapes of Andalusia," he says. In his cab, there is always a bottle of "liquid gold". "It's also really good for your health as it protects you against heart problems," he confirms.

On the road for as many as three weeks.

Ángel is a fine example of how closely linked the Andalusian culture is with olive oil and Mediterranean cuisine. "The way I see things, a salad without olive oil is like a day without sunshine," he says. Spain is the world's largest producer of olive oil. Of the 1.7 million tonnes of extra-virgin olive oil produced annually, around 1.04 million tonnes come from Andalusia. Ángel is single, and so two to three weeks on the road are no problem for him. "I've gotten used to this lifestyle and I actually really enjoy it." Half jokingly, Ángel assures us that he can quite well imagine a future without a partner, but not a future without an Actros... And more so than that, he also can't picture a life without olive oil.

Photos and video: Begoña Tremps