About our Deli and Kitchen

If you have ever been to Oliver’s Deli for something from the Chef’s Case, or grabbed a ready-made salad, soup, hot bar item, or meal from our Grab and Go, you know that Oliver’s Deli is like no other grocery store deli you have ever visited. For the uninitiated, there is no better time to check out this stellar department’s amazing offerings!

This week at Oliver’s, our Deli team has selected a small collection of our most popular items to showcase, and all at special pricing! Oliver’s Deli Coordinator, James Schwedhelm, provides some great back story on each item and how to enjoy it.

Note: All prices in effect from September 25-October 1, 2024 at all four Oliver’s Market Sonoma County locations.

• Oliver’s Own Chicken Pot Pie, 12 oz. Package, $6.49/ea.

“ I think our Chicken Pot Pies are one of the best items that we do. The freshness, flavor, and quality of ingredients really make this a great item that everyone in the house will love. We use local Rocky Chicken and clean, pure ingredients you can spell and pronounce. Fresh carrots, onions, peas, and potatoes tie this all together for a wonderful feel good meal. Don’t forget about the crust. I’m fortunate enough to see the love that goes into each and every pot pie that comes out of our commissary kitchen. Watching the team hand crimp the crust, it doesn’t get any more homemade than that.”

• Oliver’s Own Butternut Squash Risotto Cakes, $2.99/ea.

“Our Risotto Cakes are one of the most popular items in our deli. We offer 5 different seasonal varieties: Butternut Squash, Corn & Poblano Pepper, Mushroom, Asparagus, and Jalapeno Lime. One of my favorite usage stories came from a customer. This customer buys the risotto cake to use for the base of their Eggs Benedict, instead of an English muffin. They cut the risotto cake in half, pan sear, then cover it with the ham, a poached egg, and of course finish with Hollandaise sauce. I tried it once and it was pretty darn delicious.”

• Oliver’s Own Caesar Dressing, 12 oz. Bottle, $5.99/ea.

“Working within the deli channel gives me a wonderful perspective on the production end of our products. Watching our team make this dressing from scratch, the time, energy, and dedication taken to make this dressing is impressive. Knowing the love that went into it makes it all that more delicious to me.”

• Oliver’s Own Low Carb Cajun Shrimp & Sausage with Cauliflower Rice, 11 oz. Package, $10.99/ea.

“This dinner is absolutely amazing. As a self-admitted cauliflower rice hater, this dish has changed my mind. I was amazed at how well we were able to transform, in my opinion, a bland vegetable into the base of an amazingly flavorful item. It’s magic! The creativity of our culinary team never ceases to amaze me.”

• Oliver’s Own Fit Friendly Roasted Butternut Squash Salad, 11 oz. Package, $9.99/ea.

“I love this salad because it just has all the right tastes. There is a texture and filling nature of the butternut squash that leaves you feeling like you actually ate a meal, not just a salad. The sweetness of the White Balsamic Honey Dressing paired with the savory goat cheese is a perfect combination. The pepita seeds add the perfect crunch to an awesome salad.”

• Oliver’s Own Chicken Caesar Wrap, 12 oz. Package, $6.99/ea.

“Our Chicken Caesar Wrap is the perfect pickup for lunch or dinner. I think what sets ours apart for me is the Oliver’s Own Caesar Dressing. When you start with such a flavorful ingredient the whole wrap only gets better from there. Another item unique to our wrap is the chicken tender. Often times, you see a regular baked chicken breast used in a wrap. Our chicken tender provides a whole other level of taste and texture. The breading is a little saltier than a baked breast, and the flavor with the extra crunch from the breading really makes this a super delicious option, any time of day.

• Oliver’s Own Spicy Thai Chicken Soup, 32 oz. Container, $9.99/ea.; 16 oz. Container, $5.99/ea.

“This item is truly unique to Oliver’s. I’ve only seen one similar item in a grocery store. Amy’s Kitchen has a canned vegetarian option that is similar. They make a great product, but for me, a canned soup will never have the same freshness or taste of a freshly made soup. Our soup is on par with a restaurant’s for this type of quality, freshness, and flavor.”

• Oliver’s Own Bacon Gruyere Soup, 32 oz. Container, $10.99/ea.; 16 oz. Container, $5.99/ea.

“This is THE best comfort soup we’ve got, so comforting and satisfying. I use this soup in so many different ways. Usually it’s not as a soup. Honestly one of my favorite ways to enjoy this soup is for steak and potato night. I’ll do a simple steak, baked potato, and broccoli. Pour this soup over the broccoli and the baked potato, it will blow your mind. It’s like a fondue soup. It’s rich and creamy. The bacon adds a subtle smokey flavor. You really can’t go wrong with this. As a soup or a topper. It’s going to be really good.”

Literally hundreds of our tasty, convenient creations are freshly prepared in our kitchens each week by our professionally trained chefs and their teams, with quality that is easily on par with many restaurants. The quality ingredients, variety of offerings, and number of creations is simply unmatched.

We are going to jump over to the Bakery to see what they are featuring, and offer some fun facts about our Deli and Kitchen afterwards, so keep on reading!

Baked with Love

In a quiet corner behind the Tavern in our Windsor store lies a hidden wonderland of sweet, buttery deliciousness. Oliver’s Production Bakery provides a mouth-watering array of scratch-made items that are shipped to our store locations for in-house baking and decorating. Headed by Executive Baker, Michele Pedro, and staffed by her laughing cadre of bakers, the bakery is poised to make your breakfast, lunch, and dinner as quick and tasty as possible! We opened our Production Bakery in 2016, and ever since, we’ve been keeping up Sonoma County’s baked good-habit in true Oliver’s style – with fresh, locally-made products that are always of the highest quality. Here are some of our very favorite treats, along with information from Oliver’s Bakery Coordinator Marghi Sulas.

Warning: May cause insatiable hunger for freshly baked snacks. Proceed with excitement.

• Oliver’s Own Cranberry Coconut Granola, 15 oz. Package, $9.99

“This variety of house-made granola is one of the best sellers. When we were first testing the recipes, this one was a group favorite from the very beginning. It is the freshest granola you will find on the shelves, as we bake it every week. We make anywhere between 60 to 80 pounds per week.”

• Oliver’s Own Scones, 11 oz. Package, $5.99

To start your day in style, pick up some of our house-made scones. Rich and moist, they’re studded with a memorable lineup of add-ins, from dates and pecans to white chocolate and raspberries. Made with oodles of Clover butter and heavy cream, Oliver’s Scones are tender crisp, and are a delightful companion to your favorite coffee drink or tea.

• Oliver’s Own Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Loaf, 10.4 oz. Loaf, $6.99

“We tried to offer this delicious bread seasonally, but had too many customer complaints! As a result, it is available year-round.”

• Oliver’s Own Vegan Banana Loaf, 10.4 oz. Loaf, $6.99

“We offer the Vegan Banana Bread year-round, and it is very popular. It won Double Gold and Best of Show at the Harvest Fair when we entered it several years ago. It is very flavorful, as we use extra bananas in it. It is very versatile. You can even chill it and serve it with ice cream.”

• Oliver’s Own Frangipane Tart, 9-Inch Tart, $29.99

“The name Frangipane goes back to the 16^th century. The chef of King Louis XIV created an almond paste pastry. The name comes from Italian noble Marquis Muzio Frangipani.  At Oliver’s we have been making it for many years, and it is a delicious treat. It is delicate and flavorful, with just the right amount of sweetness. It does remind me of a European vacation.”

• Oliver’s Own Blueberry Lemon Muffins, 12 oz. Package, $6.99
• Oliver’s Own Carrot Muffins, 12 oz. Package, $6.99

“We decided to feature our two most popular muffins this week, and it is hard for me to pick a favorite between the two. Our muffins are very popular and between all locations, we bake over 1,000 per week.”

• Oliver’s Own Cookies, Selected Varieties, 11 oz. Package, $6.99

“We bake more than 8,000 of these delicious cookies per week between all the stores. The best seller has always been the chocolate chip cookie. It is very hard to keep them on the shelves. We are working on seasonal flavor or possibly introducing couple of gluten free options in 2025.”

Bakery Dream Team

“It’s hard to believe that there are only eight Production Bakery employees and that includes the managers,” Marghi explains. “The Windsor crew is responsible for all made from scratch items the bakery sells in all four stores, which include Mini Pies & Pies, Scones, Granola, Focaccia, Cornbread Squares, Chocolate Decadence, and Eclairs in addition to everything already mentioned. Everything in the Bakery departments with the Oliver’s logo is made by us. It is truly a big accomplishment every week and something to be proud of.”

Oliver’s Deli and Kitchen Fun Facts

How did the award-winning Oliver’s Deli become what it is and what is really happening behind the scenes in each of our stores? And what are our customers’ and our Deli Coordinator’s favorite items?

Did you know:

• The Oliver’s Deli markets over 500 items in the prepared foods program, including those in the Chef’s Case (entrees, sides, and salads); Soups, Taqueria-made Grab and Go, Grab and Go Entrees, Salads, Sides and Dinners; Dressings, Marinades & Rubs, and Hummus and other Dips.
• This is in addition to our Deli team’s robust offering of over the counter sandwiches, Taqueria items, Catering Tray program, Stony Point Pizzeria, and Windsor Tavern programs.
• Of all of the foods sold in our Deli, about 80% is entirely made in-house, with just a few of our favorite suppliers delivering prepared products

So what sets the Oliver’s Deli program apart? Oliver’s differentiates itself from other Delis by:

• Offering an unmatched variety of rotating, seasonal options for ready to enjoy, freshly prepared food.
• Using quality ingredients in all of their creations, but particularly in the area of proteins. Petaluma Poultry Rocky Chicken is used exclusively, along with Oliver’s Choice 100% Angus Beef. Throughout the Deli and Kitchen, the team uses as many locally made ingredients as possible.
• Staffing a kitchen staff team totaling 260, working at our four stores to prepare these foods daily.
• Taking pride in our quality and variety! We enjoy creating great meal options for our customers.

How Did We Get Here?

According to Oliver’s founder and president Steve Maass, our Deli program has developed the same way as many programs at Oliver’s. “The Deli has developed and evolved organically through time,” Steve explains. “In 1994, when our first store in Cotati was expanded, the Deli was expanded in the new space. The Gourmet Cheese department was added at this point, too. And in 1995, we added the Taqueria to our Deli.”

Along the way, the Montecito store was added, and then the Stony Point store in 2007, which included the large kitchen space. “With the opening of Stony Point came the Commissary Kitchen and a bigger commitment to house-made items. We had been ordering a lot of prepared foods from other companies, and ended that to move to in-house meal and deli preparations.”

Steve noted that entering Oliver’s creations in the Sonoma County Harvest Fair in its earlier years played a key role in building up the awareness and popularity for the Deli and Bakery. It also encouraged development of new items in both departments.

Behind the Scenes

While some stores have an off-site commissary kitchen, we prefer to keep everything together at our store locations, with each store specializing in different parts of our program.

Who makes what, you ask? Well, along with ongoing Deli and Taqueria business, here is how it all breaks down:

• Our Cotati Kitchen team is responsible for all Panini and Grab and Go (packaged) Salads
• The Montecito Kitchen handles Salad Dressings (retail and salad bar), Pico de Gallo, Fire Roasted Salsa, and Aioli
• Our Stony Point Kitchen is our largest kitchen and serves as the main hub of the prepared food program. They handle preparation of most Grab and Go Dinners, house-made Soups, and Bulk Signature Salads, Quiche, Pot Pies, Marinades, Rubs, Pulled Pork (for Oliver’s BBQ), and Beans and Rice.
• The Windsor Kitchen team is responsible for our Spiced Tavern Nuts (sold in Bulk Bins and worth discovering!) and other Bulk items.

So there you have it, Oliver’s fans! All kinds of great information about Oliver’s Bakery, Deli, and Kitchens is now yours. We hope you’ll take advantage of this week’s featured pricing to discover a new customer favorites as you find some new personal go-to items of your own.

Bon Appetit!