Jennifer Olson

My love for food and hospitality started when I was in college.  I worked several front of the house positions in restaurants in Olympia, WA and Denver, CO and couldn’t get enough of it.  I loved the hospitality part of it, and was in awe of the great food that I was continually exposed to.  From there, I carved out a great career in hospitality for 13 years, but soon found myself working in my true passion, photography. 

While in restaurants, I was exposed not only to great cuisine, but the importance of sourcing good food from local communities.  I read Slow Food Nation by Carlo Petrini and The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan and was so inspired by the messaging in both of these books about how simple it can be to connect with our food.  These books, and my passion for photography, pushed me towards a career in food photography.  In 2006 I started to research and get more involved with the relationship between farmer and chef for my cookbook, Colorado Organic, Cooking Seasonally, Eating Locally.  It opened my eyes to how important it is to support our local farmers; how hard they work and the struggle that can be part of daily life.  As I dove deeper into everything local, I found the Slow Food Denver Community.  It was a symbiotic relationship and they welcomed me with open arms.  Being a part of the Slow Food Community is the work that I crave because this is exactly what the mission is.  Connecting people to their food networks, which can be simple, easy and fulfilling.  This is what I want to share with everyone.  What I love about the Denver chapter the most is that our work spans across the state, we are working hard to be inclusive and look deep into how we can support our local food systems and provide greater access to everyone.    

I am constantly working on exposing myself to what is new in trends in the food world regionally and globally.  I regularly attend fundraisers, symposiums and festivals. It is important to me to keep up with the community in any way that I can, and being a part of helping others while I do it is a huge bonus.  I served on the Leadership Council for Cooking Matters Colorado for 4 years and have been a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier for the past 2 years.  I have served on the Board of Slow Food Denver for 3 years now and continue to be inspired by the work that we do for our community and the bond that we have built as an organization. 

Take 13 years in the restaurant business, a degree in Photography, and 16 years as a food photographer and what you get is a foodie who loves to photograph food. Give me a hot room to practice yoga, and a lazy Sunday afternoon to chase after my spunky kiddo, and I’m a happy camper. I love springtime, a great glass of Rose, and I have an affinity for salty snacks. My studio is located in the TAXI Community in sunny Denver, Colorado.