In 2013, Spaulding Gray sat down and did a one-on-one Q and A with Jimme Mares.
I had met Jimme in 2011 at the beginning of the Kroger/Murray’s Cheese Expansion… which became a cheese invasion into the heartland of the USA. That was Rob Kaufelt’s original mission: to make specialty cheese accessible to every household in America.
Jimme was young and the most enthusiastic member of our training classes. This was a guy made to sell cheese. We went to NYC together to hangout at Murray’s for a couple of days for cheese training. I remember we stayed in an older hotel (National chain) near Time Square that was decorated just a click above a whore house. The hotel’s theme was “presidential”; my room had a Jackie Kennedy Onassis lamp and brocaded red and gold wallpaper… on the ceiling. The bath was so small you couldn’t close the door and sit on the toilet at the same time… I was not impressed…
It was Jimme’s first trip to NYC; he and Natasha (who will be Best Man at Jimme’s upcoming wedding this spring), my dear friend and Cadence’s mom, stayed out to all hours taking in as many sites they could fit around our business schedule. It was late July; the City was hot, humid and smelled of garbage… I heart New York… but I digress…
If you are friends with Jimme on Facebook, you’ll see regular postings of his cheese plates tagged with #DinnertimeWithJimme and also we have been treated to his workout challenges and success with #BodyMadeByCheese, proving that Cheese is healthy and good for us. An area that Babs Hogan, The Healthy Cheese Lady, advocates daily.
From one of his #DinnertimeWithJimme posts, I crafted this mozzarella and peaches salad recipe.
Where is Jimme now… From Murray’s Cheese Master in Denver, Jimme has risen through the ranks and recently was promoted to Murray’s National Associate Director. I suggested some areas for him to share with us about how life has changed. My thanks to Jimme for taking the time:
How has the CCP impacted your career path?
“The CCP gave me a better understanding of the cheese industry as a whole. It allowed me to experience cheese through the eyes of the farmer, cheese maker, affineur, distributor, cheese monger, and customer. With this better understanding I have been able to better direct the teams I have managed to honor all of the hard work and love that goes into each wheel of cheese. The certification is well respected and known in the Grocery/cheese industry because of the amount of knowledge that is gained.”
You moved to Detroit and then back to Colorado – tell us about the experiences in Michigan and how they prepared you to return to run the cheese program in Colorado.
“Moving to Michigan as the Kroger Division cheese specialist was the best move I made for my career. This move allowed me to build a division from the ground up and learn all aspects of the cheese business as I put them in place. In Michigan I set up 40 cheese shops in the 4 years that I lived there. This experience helped me perfect my merchandising eye, my communication with others, and the overall rhythm of running a business on a large scale. By having built Michigan’s cheese business within Kroger and Murray’s cheese I was able to take that knowledge and expertise to the Colorado market, which is much larger. In taking over Colorado all of the systems and programs were already in place for me. I adapted the Colorado systems and programs to my own cheesy flare over the year and a half that I have been here. I try daily to come up with creative sales ideas to draw in new specialty cheese customers and to keep our current loyal customers interest and business.”
Tell us about a “typical” week in your life. How many MC shops have you opened over your career – how has MC changed over the years?
“‘Typical’ my weeks are anything but. My weeks range from sales/gross margin analysis to opening new cheese shops across the state. My role consists of setting the standard of our cheese shops and making sure we maintain that standard. I move from store to store to ensure that the needs of our cheese mongers are catered to as well as the needs of our customers. Over my career I have opened 54 Murray’s and Specialty cheese shops across Michigan and Colorado. Murray’s cheese has changed for the better over the years. Our Murray’s cheese shop’s standards continue to be more consistent as the years go by, with each regions own local flare. Our Murray’s and Specialty cheese shops host some of the most cheese passionate mongers I have ever met in my life! The shops are exploding with creative artistic mongers who want to make a difference on our customers dinner plate. I am honored to work along side our cheese mongers!”
Where do you plan to take your career next (if you want to share).
“I am happy to be transitioning into my new role as the Murray’s National Team Associate Director. In my new role I will still be based out of Denver, Colorado but will be traveling to all of the divisions of Kroger to help support and grow our Murray’s cheese shops.”
Again, my thanks to Jimme for sharing with us. You will always be one of my favorite Cheese Friends…
In addition to being an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional, I am a Certified ServSafe Food Production Manager with certifications that also include ServSafe Certified Instructor and Proctor. I am available for cheese events, cheese program development, cheese training, food safety training and 3rd party food safety auditing. See my About Me and Resume pages for more details or call me at 360 921 9908 to discuss availability.
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