Maison Zitoun is the story of Sami and Liza. A story that begins in the Tunisian orchards of Sami's family, generations ago - and that continues to be written today in every bottle that leaves their home. Zitoun is Arabic for olives. Maison Zitoun, literally: a house of olives.

Sami was born in Belgium, but his roots are in Tunisian soil. In his family, olive oil has been pressed from their own groves for several generations – not as a commodity, but as a matter of course. A family had to be self-sufficient in olive oil, it was as simple as that. And every time Sami returned from a trip, he brought bottles in his suitcase for friends who came to taste and always asked again: "Where do you get this oil?" The answer was always the same: "From the family trees."

 

It was only when Liza travelled with Sami to the region in December 2024 – in the middle of harvest season – that everything clicked. She walked among the trees, watched the baskets fill with hand-picked fruit, and tasted the Chemlali for the first time: a small, juicy olive she had never encountered in Belgium. A variety that grows almost exclusively in this region, and which immediately captivated her. Liza fell in love with the land, with the culture, with the craft. And with that small, precious olive that no one she knew had ever heard of. Why, she wondered, does this remain hidden? It was Liza who finally persuaded Sami to take the plunge. What had been continued in silence for generations deserved a wider audience. Maison Zitoun was born.

The house further took shape around a second observation. As epicureans who love to gather around the table, Sami and Liza sought a bottle worthy of their oil. Everyone knows Peugeot's iconic pepper mill – an object that graces countertops for decades. But an olive oil bottle with that same elegance, one that also truly protects the oil? Such things are rare. For Liza, who has always been passionate about interior design, the conclusion was simple: if it doesn't exist, we'll make it ourselves. This is how our ceramic design came about – drawn in-house, handcrafted in the European Union. A bottle that protects the oil from light and heat, and an object that remains on your table long after the last drop has been poured.

What started with olive oil and a bottle did not stop there. Maison Zitoun is a house that grows - with the Chemlali olives that introduce you to our origin olive, and with the Mediterranean herbs that are just as indispensable at the table. Herbs are Liza's absolute passion: at home, she has an impressive herb cabinet, and she buys something new every week. But the herbs from the south, she says, are a step above - pure, elegant, with an unprecedented depth that you rarely find here. Our Secrets are pure, artisanally composed blends - herbs where you know what you're eating, made in the traditional way, without additives.

Maison Zitoun is a house of tradition and purity – a house with many rooms. Our ambition extends beyond what’s on the table today: we will continue to add new products, always with the same dedication, the same care and the same uncompromising quality. A house that grows at its own pace, but never at the expense of what makes it so special.

Essentially, Maison Zitoun is an invitation. To embrace the rich flavors of the Mediterranean world – the oil, the olives, the spices, the craftsmanship and the objects worthy of them.