Millcreek Olive Oil

Address: 1337 East Villa Vista Avenue

Telephone: 801-698-5144

Website: millcreekoliveoil.org

District: Millcreek

 

“Food brings people together," Jason Hess shared. "It was something I could do that felt meaningful and connected everyone around me.” At Millcreek Olive Oil, that same sense of connection fills the air. The shop is warm and welcoming, with rows of shelves lined with enticing pantry goods and gifts. Along one wall, gleaming stainless-steel canisters invite customers to taste from dozens of olive oils, and bottles of balsamic vinegars sit on tables.

Jason grew up just up the road from his shop in Millcreek, one of five children, with a mother whose quiet determination shaped his life. “She was very loving and still is,” he said with a smile. For more than forty years, his mother ran a sewing school that began in the basement of their home and grew into a successful business in a shopping mall, which she was then able to turn into a franchise. Watching her work tirelessly and creatively left a lasting impression on Jason, and there is no doubt how proud he is of her.

When he was small, Jason would make butterfly nets from his mother’s old pantyhose and spend hours catching insects, curious about how things worked. But his favorite time was “mom day,” when each child got one-on-one time with her. “I always wanted to make cookies on my day because, you know, who doesn’t like cookies?” he recalled. Those afternoons turned into something more. By the time he was eleven, he was baking on his own, changing recipes, grinding oats, and experimenting with flours. “It was really fun,” he said. “I loved presenting those to my mom and dad.”

As his mother’s business grew and she worked later hours, Jason began cooking dinners, too. “I started cooking savory items - spaghetti and red sauce and just all kinds of stuff."

High school brought football and wrestling. “I was a huge jock,” Jason laughed, but the kitchen remained a quiet anchor. After playing two years of college football and studying physical therapy, Jason realized sports medicine was not his calling. “I was just kind of floating, and there was this school called The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York that kept calling out to me.” He applied, was placed on an eighteen-month waiting list, then got a call months earlier than expected; a spot had opened. “I packed all my stuff into an Army duffel bag, took my knife roll, and got myself on a plane to New York.”

The Culinary Institute was a revelation. Surrounded by classmates from around the world, Jason found his place. “I loved it there. The professors were just amazing people.” During his yearlong externship, he was encouraged to reach out to a restaurant and spend time there perfecting his craft. He chose San Francisco and contacted Postrio, owned by Wolfgang Puck. “I called the restaurant, and guess who picked up the phone? The chef,” Jason recalled. “He asked, ‘Well, are you any good?’ ‘I’d like to think so,’ I answered, and the response was, ‘Come on out, and we’ll see about that.’”

Jason spent a year there, working his way from the wood-fired oven to the live grill to Hot Prep - the hardest station in the kitchen. “You’ve got to make family meals for forty-five people within an hour of you arriving,” he said. “That taught me how to cook fast and to make meals for a large number of people in a short amount of time.” Eventually, he moved to the pantry, where he prepared delicate dishes like buckwheat blini with smoked salmon and caviar. “I made many mistakes, but at that place, if you make a mistake, you just start over immediately. You’re there to learn.”

After returning to New York to finish his degree, Jason then moved to Hawaii and cooked there for a time before returning home to Utah. Over the years, he worked at Stein Eriksen Lodge, Cicero’s in Park City, and later opened several restaurants of his own, including David Chase Café with his brother and, later, Jasoh! in Ogden. The long hours, the creativity, and the constant hum of the kitchen shaped him. “Those years were really great, I was where I needed to be - in my environment, an open kitchen - anything you could ask for as a chef.”

When the 2008 financial crisis hit, however, and restaurants everywhere struggled, Jason began thinking differently. “At Wolfgang’s place, there was a fifty-five-gallon drum of olive oil,” Jason remembered. “Every night, you would go and fill your bottles for the shift, and that olive oil was delicious. I told myself at the time, ‘When I get my own place one day, I want this type of olive oil.’”

That idea eventually led to Millcreek Olive Oil, which he opened at the end of 2010. Partnering with a century-old importing family in Oakland, California, Jason began sourcing extraordinary oils and authentic balsamics. “They have the contacts,” he explained. “They go out and set up contracts with growers, and they buy the crop as long as it meets the standards they set, which are way higher than the legal ones.”

Jason described the process with passion. Olive oil, he explained, is harvested twice a year - once in the Northern Hemisphere and again in the Southern. “During the northern hemisphere, it is the usual suspects - Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece,” he said. Then six months later, they crush in the south - Chile, Peru, Australia. “Australia’s huge on truth in labeling.” Each batch is double-lab-tested for quality, freshness, and purity, ensuring the oils have a high polyphenol count - those natural antioxidants responsible for olive oil’s signature peppery finish and its heart-healthy reputation.

Jason loves teaching customers about fused olive oils, which differ from infused ones. Fused oils are made by grinding whole fruit, like lemons, together with freshly harvested olives before pressing. The result is a clean, aromatic oil where the fruit and olive flavors truly become one.

Then there is the balsamic vinegar, which Jason spoke about with equal passion. Grapes are crushed to produce grape "must," reduced by half in copper pots to form a syrup, then combined with a touch of red wine vinegar, similar to a sourdough starter. As the natural sugars ferment into alcohol, vinegar bacteria slowly convert them into acid, creating complex flavor and aroma. Over time, the liquid is transferred through progressively smaller barrels made from different woods, each imparting its own character. The result is a balsamic aged eighteen years in the Modena tradition, rich and velvety with a natural sweetness.

Jason thoroughly enjoys helping people discover their perfect combinations, often suggesting how a particular oil can beautifully complement a vinegar. At any given time, there are about fifty varieties of olive oils and balsamic vinegars in the shop. The collection of oils ranges from herbal and citrus to bold and aromatic - Tuscan Herb, Basil, Persian Lime, Blood Orange, and Ginger Black Garlic among them. The balsamics are equally rich in variety, featuring flavors such as Fig, Blueberry, Cinnamon Pear, Dark Chocolate, Espresso, and Blackberry Ginger. Customers are invited to sample anything in the store, find their favorite pairings, and bring bottles back for refills. Every seventh refill is free. The shelves also hold Spanish olives, local salsas and hot sauces, jams, pastas, soaps, and thoughtfully packaged gifts.

Perhaps one of the nicest perks of purchasing oil and vinegar at the shop is that Jason offers an abundance of cooking advice - how to use the different ingredients to make outstanding dishes, whether it be a perfect salad, a delectable pasta, or even a dessert. “I have customers who come in and taste things, decide what they want, but then need advice on what to do next.”

Through every chapter of his life - from the eleven-year-old baking cookies to the chef commanding a bustling kitchen - Jason’s love for food has remained constant. That spirit fills Millcreek Olive Oil. “I love what I do,” he said simply, “and would not choose to be anywhere else right now.”