Conversations with Jorge Cespedes

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jorge Cespedes.

Hi Jorge, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My name is Jorge Cespedes, I’m a classically trained chef and I’ve been in the food and beverage consulting industry for over 17 years. My life and business partner Wyatt and I had been talking about opening a small business with a small investment that had the potential to grow into something big and beautiful. For me the first thing that came to mind was a food related idea and then after some snacks and glasses of wine, we both realized that the one thing we love to do and love to share with our friends is a really good charcuterie board. From there, the idea grew into sharing the love of food with the people you love and others, hence the name “Olive Juice” because not only is that a very relatable name for a charcuterie business but it has that special trick of when you say it from afar to someone, it looks like you are saying “I love you”.

We decided to start with a small cart/station to be able to do very cool and unique catering events; this was May of 2025 and in this past 8 months we have been part of baby showers, bridal showers, birthday parties, art gallery showings, brewery parties and so many other events. We love bringing this unique experience to as many as possible.

The reason the cart is so fun and different is because it’s the evolution of high-end charcuterie catering; you see, almost 40% of the food on regular charcuterie boards or even grazing tables ends up in the trash, and I believe that’s because of the nature of a charcuterie board, people pick through them, the honey starts running down the board, the cheese starts to dry out a little bit and after 25-30 minutes, it doesn’t look appetizing and people just stop eating it.
What makes our set up different is that every ingredient like the cheeses, meats, nuts, olives, etc are on their own compartment and they don’t touch each other; this allows people who have allergies or very specific culinary restrictions to still enjoy this food because everyone gets to pick exactly what they want on their board and nothing else. You customize it exactly how you want it.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’d say that our biggest struggle has been getting people to know that we exist, that we are here in Denver and available to cater all sorts of really cool events.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a creative that is always looking for artistic outlets. You could say that my main and profesional outlet has been the culinary world; it started with going to culinary school and really falling in love with ingredients and the story behind them, like how did they get all the way from all corners of the world to thisa kitchen for us to create these amazing recipes for people? I realized that I cared more about the story than anything else, and that drive me to the world of food and beverage marketing. I worked in the advertising agency world for 15 years and loved every minute of it. I learned about the power or an image or a video and how that can change people’s perspectives on how they enjoy food. I was running a photo and video studio focused on food and that definitely trained my eye to look for all the right and wrong pieces of an image and idea, I learned the power of color, texture, depth and so much more. That led me to get very interested in interior design and that’s just another outlet I have to be creative on the side, I like to work on people’s homes and help them find the right feeling for themselves. At the end of the day, I want to tell stories, to find the human connection in every dish, every drink, every pillow, piece of art and more. I am getting into writing, which by the way is the hardest thing I’ve ever tried, but this wil definitely help me get better at storytelling.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I think baking with my mom. I remeber sitting on the kitchen counter and she had her kitchen aid mixer next to me as we were getting ready to make her signature chocolate cake. My job was to pour each ingredient into the bowl whenever I was instructed to. I loved watching the ingredients slowly swirl themselves away into the batter, knowing that each of them was adding another layer of flavor and my mouth would start watering by the idea of this cake being finished and us enjoyng it later that day. I guess food has always been a part of my creative being and psyche.

Pricing:

• Base fee for the cart is $250 for 2 hours and +$50 every extra hour. From there, it’s $17 per person and we have a 20 guest minimum for each event.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://olivejuice-hospitality.com/
• Instagram: @olivejuicehospitality