Learning How to Cook — with Michelle Doll Olson and HelloFresh
In Episode 128 of the Kitchen Confidante Podcast, Liren talks with Michelle Doll Olson about her role at HelloFresh, and why getting people back around the dinner table is at the heart of everything they do.
On the podcast, I recently chatted with chef, food writer, and culinary teacher Michelle Doll Olson. Michelle is the Senior Manager of Culinary Development at HelloFresh, where she helps shape the chef-developed recipes that land in millions of home kitchens each week. With a background spanning pastry, savory cooking, teaching, and entrepreneurship, Michelle brings both creativity and practicality to the way people cook at home.
In this episode, we chat about her winding path to becoming Head Chef, how HelloFresh recipes are developed to balance flavor, health, and convenience, and why getting people back around the dinner table without stress or waste is at the heart of everything they do.
Listen to the full episode or keep reading for some of the highlights from our conversation.
How Did You Get Started as a Chef and Recipe Developer?
Grandmothers are a central part of so many of our food memories, and mine is no exception. One of my earliest and most vivid memories is baking peanut butter cookies with my Grandma Doll. I was fascinated by every step, like learning how to use a wet fork to make that classic crosshatch pattern. Those moments made baking feel magical.
My career path to cooking, however, was anything but straightforward. In the 1990s, I moved to New York to pursue acting, but I eventually found myself working in corporate marketing and branding for nearly a decade. I wore a suit to work every day and slowly realized it wasn’t the life I wanted. At home, I was consuming Food Network nonstop. Back then, the shows were truly instructional, and I felt inspired and compelled to cook.
I enrolled in culinary school at night, focusing on pastry. After about nine months, I landed a job doing sugar design for a bakery. From there, I opened my own business, Michelle Doll Cakes, which I ran for over 10 years. Along the way, I also worked in restaurants, developed savory recipes, and learned how to run a professional kitchen. I spent years teaching at Sur La Table and the French Culinary Institute (now the International Culinary Center), and I noticed the same questions coming up again and again, like How do I wash my cast iron pan? How do I clean my rolling pin? What kind of nonstick pan should I buy?
The desire to answer those questions for my students led me to write my first book, Essential Tools, Tips & Techniques for the Home Cook.
Later, my friend reached out to me about a position at HelloFresh, where I am now the Head Chef for the U.S.
“Say ‘yes’ to everything. Your journey might not make sense at the time, but all the steps add up to get you where you want to go.”
Tell Us More About Being a Chef for HelloFresh
At its heart, HelloFresh is a meal delivery service designed to make cooking easier and more joyful. Each week, customers receive a box with two to four chef-developed meals, all pre-measured and pre-portioned. Instead of buying an entire bunch of celery, you get precisely what you need—reducing waste, cleanup, and decision fatigue. Most meals are ready in about 30 minutes, which makes them ideal for everyone, including busy professionals, families, seniors, and college students.
What excites me most is that every meal kit is also a small cooking lesson. People are willing to learn new techniques and explore new cuisines, especially when the commitment is low. You can try something unfamiliar without investing in a whole bottle or pantry item—and if you love it, you can always seek it out locally.
“We’re in a lot of people’s kitchens every week, and we take that responsibility very seriously.”
That commitment extends beyond recipes. Through partnerships like No Kid Hungry and Wheels With Meaning, the company supports food access and reduces waste, donating meals weekly and directing proceeds from its upcoming cookbook toward meaningful causes.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about bringing people together.”
The upcoming HelloFresh cookbook will be available in September, and it reflects that spirit, featuring go-to recipes from across the company and celebrating the shared experience of cooking and eating together.
Learn more
Listen to the full podcast episode with Michelle here. You can learn more at HelloFresh.com,michelledollmakes.com, and follow her on Instagram @chefmichelledoll.
COOKBOOK
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