There is a particular kind of creativity that begins long before a recipe is written down. It begins with memory. For a cook, it’s the simple acts of flour dusting a kitchen counter, the familiar rhythm of hands that have kneaded dough a thousand times before, or celebrating the tradition of a grandmother who knows which day is for bread, which day is for canning and how, somehow, the ordinary work of feeding a family becomes something that lasts for generations.
For Promise Schlegel, owner of Olive & Herb Inc., creativity has always been intertwined with food. “My grandmothers both cooked in different styles. Everything we made from scratch, this goes back to my grandmothers and following their recipes.”
Her earliest culinary education was not found in a cookbook or classroom, but in the kitchens and communities that shaped her. She grew up in Alaska before large supermarkets became commonplace, learning the value of making things from scratch. She cooked alongside her mother, worked as a prep cook and sous chef in a Chinese restaurant, and carried with her the distinctly different flavors and traditions of both grandmothers.
One of those women was Grandma Villett, who lived in the Montana countryside and became part of the rhythm of Promise's childhood summers. “We went to visit every summer up till I was in my teens. She baked bread on certain days she canned on other days she had a list of things she did day by day.” Perhaps that is where creativity first revealed itself—not as something complicated or precious, but as something practiced. Something built through repetition, curiosity and the willingness to see what else might be possible.
Today, that same spirit lives at Olive & Herb.The Loveland shop has its roots in the former Bottled Olive Kitchen, where Promise and her husband Kevin Schlegel spent years taking classes and discovering products they loved. Along with longtime friend Linda Topliff, they eventually took over the Loveland and Greeley operations on January 1, 2025. The first months brought unexpected change, including the closure of the Greeley location and the opening of a Cheyenne store.
Through it all, Loveland continued to evolve. New products found their way onto the shelves. Old favorites remained. And the store became a place where customers could taste, experiment and discover that creativity does not require complicated techniques or a culinary degree. Sometimes it begins with an egg, a good olive oil or a balsamic vinegar that completely changes what you thought you knew about vinegar.
At Olive & Herb, the invitation is simple: taste something new. “To eat healthier doesn't mean giving up on flavor. We try to deepen your food flavor,” Promise emphasizes. That invitation extends beyond the shelves and into the store's cooking classes, where the goal is not to sit quietly and watch someone else create. Participants get their hands involved. They make choices. They experiment. They learn that cooking does not have to be intimidating and that the most interesting meals often begin when someone decides to think outside the box.
For Promise, food has never been only about what is served. It is about what happens around the table. “Our grandparents made meals 3 times a day. Being around the table is not about the food, it's about the people you are with and sharing experiences.” That philosophy reaches beyond family dinners and into the heart of Olive & Herb itself. Promise hopes Loveland customers leave excited to take something home and share it with the people they love. She values the repeat customers who return to tell stories of new flavors, family reactions and recipes that became something more than dinner.
In that way, creativity continues to seep through the walls of Olive & Herb. It travels from their kitchen to another. From grandmother to grandchild. From a cooking class to a family table. From one curious taste to the next. “My children and grandchildren continue to see how this business works within the community.” That is the legacy Promise hopes Olive & Herb will leave behind: not simply bottles and spices, but a living example of what can happen when a business becomes woven into the life of its community, by creating the traditions she learned throughout her childhood and sharing them with her world.
“To eat healthier doesn’t mean giving up on flavor. We try to deepen your food flavor.”
— Promise Schlegel
“Being around the table is not about the food, it’s about the people you are with and sharing experiences.”
— Promise Schlegel