Elise Olson

Q. Can you tell us a bit about your upbringing and how it has shaped you?

I grew up in 1980s Minnesota with parents who were, for their time, nascent foodies. Gourmet or unusual ingredients were not widely sold so we kept it simple — the priority was always home-cooked, healthy-ish meals. We didn’t go out to eat much, so the goal was always to recreate those special meals as best we could. I remember my mom sternly telling me, the budding cooking enthusiast, to not use her balsamic vinegar since it was comparatively expensive to use in everything!
Even as a kid, I had a thing going for cheese. By the time I got to high school, I was always tasked with putting together the holiday cheese plates, which, in retrospect, were probably pretty quaint.

Q. What were some of the pivotal moments that led you to where you are today?

After my first shift in the cut-to-order cheese shop I started at, my manager handed me a copy of Steve Jenkin’s “The Cheese Primer” to start getting more knowledge under my belt. I think I read it cover to cover in about two days and then went out to spend $30, that I absolutely did not have as a poor college student, on cheese at a specialty shop near my apartment. I literally did not even want to wait for my next shift to just grab samples. That was when I knew I may have found my career path.

The other big one was in 2011, after I joined the team at Whole Foods Market. We went to Chicago for a regional meeting, and it was the first time I met Cathy Strange in person. I had followed her for years on social media and remember fangirling to her about how excited I was to finally meet her. She was gracious and, given her tall stature, truly larger than life! I still get star struck and nervous whenever I get to talk to her.

Q. How has your career evolved over the years?

I spent the first six years of my career behind a cheese counter really talking to customers about what they were looking for, what they liked, what they didn’t — and I have carried that with me since. Producers and styles may come and go through the years, but what makes a cheese popular and easy to sell, remains the same.

When I made the move to Whole Foods Market in 2010, I only spent 18 months behind the counter before moving into a new position where I was able to start sharing my accumulated experience with a wider group of people.

In 2017, I made the leap to purchasing for an entire regional area. Customers have a lot of commonalities, but the nuances at the local store level are endless and incredible. Now that I’m making assortment decisions for an entire country’s worth of stores, I lean on expertise from the amazing mongers and suppliers in these areas to understand who they believe the specialty cheese customer is and what they’re looking for.

Q. What is the best advice you ever received and why?

Stay humble, hustle hard. Some of my favorite people in this industry embody this, and I strive to emulate it as best I can. It costs nothing to work hard and stay grounded.

Q. What deli retail trends have impacted the industry most over the last year?

We’ve seen a lot of movement toward pre-pack/exact weight formats. While I can appreciate the convenience and simplicity of this format, there is simply no substitution for freshly cut cheese from a wheel. As Cathy Strange would always remind us: “Cheese is alive!”

Exact weight cuts can preclude styles that we don’t see as widely produced domestically, such as washed rinds and soft-ripened offerings — my worry is that it will ultimately narrow customer familiarity with this wider range of styles.

Q. What hobbies do you enjoy outside of work?

During the summer months, I take up residence in my garden (I’m a University of Wisconsin-Extension Master Gardener). During the colder winter months, I’m an avid embroidery enthusiast, clarinet player and sourdough baker.

Q. Where is your favorite place to go on vacation?

I love going up to Lake Superior during the hottest weeks of the summer — so refreshing!