When a tree falls on your house two days before you are to leave for a six-week tour of Kazakhstan with Elton John, and your wife and 2-year-old son are near hysteria, it may be time to change your life. Steve Lehrhoff did. After eight years as tour manager of Sir Elton’s band (“It took me around the world almost four times”), Lehrhoff now spends his days in one place, just six miles from his Verona home, turning people on to the seductive flavors and appetizing applications of naturally infused extra virgin olive oils and aged Italian balsamic vinegars.
Lehrhoff, 42, got the idea for Olive That And More! from his sister’s best friend, who owns the Filling Station in Chelsea Market in Manhattan. Boutique oil-and-vinegar shops are catching on in New Jersey—for example at Carter & Cavero, which also sells tapenades and other foods and has stores in Red Bank, Long Branch, Princeton, Sea Girt and Summit.
Montclair has taken warmly to the concept. Lehrhoff sets out tiny plastic cups and squares of bread so people can sample his 30 types of olive oil and 12 thick balsamic vinegars before they invest in a 375 ml. bottle. With few exceptions (an 18-year-old balsamic is $29.99, truffle or porcini-infused oils are $24.95), every bottle is $16.95.
The vinegars, all from Modena, balsamic capital of the world, range in age from four to 12 years. The best-selling infusion is fig. Also popular are pomegranate, espresso, raspberry and white honey.
Geographically, the oils hail from Greece to California. The top-selling infused oils are Meyer lemon, blood orange, porcini and black truffle. The leading unflavored oil is Spanish, from arbosana olives with a light peppery finish. For a stunningly peppery finish, go with a Chilean from arbequina olives.
“You can use balsamics for salad dressings or cook with them, especially the white balsamics, which won’t discolor the food,” Lehrhoff says. “Someone made a marinade for pork tenderloin with cinnamon pear balsamic. My customers’ creativity is what’s growing my store.”
Son Graham, now 4, has caught the balsamic bug himself. “His favorite,” says his father, “is blueberry balsamic on his pancakes.”
The parenting knack came fairly easily to the globetrotting Lehrhoff. “I was mom to a bunch of really spoiled adults—not an easy gig by any means,” he says with a laugh. “Actually, Elton is the nicest person on Earth, and I was always treated with respect. I was truly blessed to be part of it. I always tell people what I did in my past life was not real.” 246 Bellevue Ave, 973-744-7175, olivethatonline.com