Great charcuterie doesn’t start in the curing room. It starts with the animal.

Elias Cairo has spent most of his life chasing that idea.

Elias is the founder of Olympia Provisions in Portland, Oregon, one of the most respected charcuterie producers in North America. What began as a small project has grown into a group of restaurants and curing rooms, but the heart of Olympia Provisions is still a tight knit crew of people committed to doing things the right way.

In this conversation, Elias shares the path that brought him there.

As a young cook he left North America to apprentice in Switzerland, where food traditions are treated with deep respect and charcuterie is inseparable from farming, animals, and place. When he returned home, he realized that if he wanted to make that kind of product here, he would have to build the systems himself.

Finding farmers raising animals the right way.
Creating relationships that ensure consistent quality.
Building a company culture where everyone understands the responsibility behind the food they produce.

Because great charcuterie is not just about technique. It is about people, animals, and the discipline to do things properly.

We talk about hunting, wild game, fermentation, patience, and the long pursuit of making food that people trust.

Guest Links

Olympia Provisions
https://www.olympiaprovisions.com

Olympia Provisions Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/olympiaprovisions

Elias Cairo
https://www.olympiaprovisions.com/blogs/bios/9641623-elias-cairo
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Silvercore is built on a lifetime spent outdoors, on ranges and in the company of people who live with skill, purpose and integrity.
Here you will find real conversations, fieldcraft, practical training, stories from the wild and the lessons that help us grow mentally and physically.
Whether it is a podcast with someone who has been tested, a tip you can use today or a look behind the scenes, the goal is to help you live stronger, safer and more capable in the outdoors and in life.

Silvercore Club members receive exclusive podcast episodes, online courses, insurance for their adventures and discounts on premium gear:
https://bit.ly/2RiREb4

Online Training: https://bit.ly/3nJKx7U
Training and Services: https://bit.ly/3vw6kSU
Merchandise: https://bit.ly/3ecyvk9
Blog: https://bit.ly/3nEHs8W

Host Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bader.tiffany
Silvercore Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/silvercoreoutdoors

Contact:
info@silvercore.ca
604 940 7785
www.silvercore.ca

All content on this channel is for informational purposes only.
Always follow the law, follow safe handling practices and train with qualified professionals.
Silvercore assumes no liability for the use or misuse of any information shown here.
_____
00:00 Introduction to Elias Cairo
02:15 First tasting Olympia Provisions
05:10 What real charcuterie is
08:40 Learning from European food culture
14:20 Apprenticeship in Switzerland
20:45 Why great charcuterie starts with the animal
27:30 Hunting and cooking wild game
33:15 The difference between North American and European food traditions
40:50 What makes great salami
49:10 Patience, fermentation, and curing meat
57:30 Building Olympia Provisions
1:05:10 Advice for people who want to make charcuterie

Tana Grenda lives off the road system in remote Alaska, flying bush planes, hunting for food, and raising six kids where mistakes have real consequences.

In this episode of The Wild Kitchen, Tiffany Bader sits down with Tana to talk about life without convenience and what that demands from the people living it. They get into fear, risk, and preparation, why skill matters more than confidence, and how time on the land changes the way people think, eat, and move through the world.

The conversation spans subsistence food, women-only hunting retreats, physical training, health, and the realities of raising a family far from infrastructure. Tana also shares stories from recent hunts and trips, including time spent in Florida dealing with invasive species and the responsibility that comes with harvesting your own food.

This episode is about capability, responsibility, and choosing a life that doesn’t offer many shortcuts.

Guest Links
🌿 Grenda’s Getaways (Wild Women’s Retreats & Adventures) — https://www.bristolbayretreats.com/

🎙 Stuck N The Rut Podcast (Hosted by Adam & Tana Grenda) — https://stuckntherut.buzzsprout.com/

📍 Wild Women’s Rendezvous (Event Info) — https://www.bristolbayretreats.com/wwridaho

_____
Silvercore is built on a lifetime spent outdoors, on ranges and in the company of people who live with skill, purpose and integrity.
Here you will find real conversations, fieldcraft, practical training, stories from the wild and the lessons that help us grow mentally and physically.
Whether it is a podcast with someone who has been tested, a tip you can use today or a look behind the scenes, the goal is to help you live stronger, safer and more capable in the outdoors and in life.

Silvercore Club members receive exclusive podcast episodes, online courses, insurance for their adventures and discounts on premium gear:
https://bit.ly/2RiREb4

Online Training: https://bit.ly/3nJKx7U
Training and Services: https://bit.ly/3vw6kSU
Merchandise: https://bit.ly/3ecyvk9
Blog: https://bit.ly/3nEHs8W

Host Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bader.tiffany
Silvercore Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/silvercoreoutdoors

Contact:
info@silvercore.ca
604 940 7785
www.silvercore.ca

All content on this channel is for informational purposes only.
Always follow the law, follow safe handling practices and train with qualified professionals.
Silvercore assumes no liability for the use or misuse of any information shown here.
_____

00:00 – Meeting Tana and the Wild Women Rendezvous
03:20 – Building the right community and cutting out ego
06:40 – Why women-only spaces work differently
09:30 – Confidence in the outdoors and confidence in life
13:10 – Fear, risk, and being prepared instead of scared
15:40 – Living in Alaska off the road system
22:00 – Subsistence food, logistics, and real costs of remote life
26:10 – Gator, iguana, and python hunting in Florida
34:40 – Wildlife management and cultural disconnects
39:30 – Health coaching, hormones, and women’s training
46:00 – Non-negotiables: sleep, food, movement
49:30 – Training women for backcountry hunts
54:30 – Wild food, inflammation, and listening to your body
59:00 – Why women-only events matter
1:02:30 – Children’s books, hunting stories, and legacy

Jeff Senger left accounting to buy a small slaughterhouse in rural Alberta. What followed was sixteen years of working directly with animals, farmers, hunters, and the realities most of us never see behind plastic-wrapped meat.
We talk about what changes when food becomes a commodity, why some meat tastes alive and some doesn’t, and how much control we actually have as eaters. Jeff shares what it’s like to stand on a kill floor, why he believes butchers still matter, and how flavour, ethics, and responsibility are tied together whether we want to admit it or not.

Topics include:
What slaughter actually looks like and why hiding it matters
How feed, age, and handling shape flavor
The difference between real butchery and portioning
Chronic wasting disease and what responsibility looks like in real life
Why whole animals used to feed communities, not markets
How trust is built between hunters, farmers, and butchers

The Wild Kitchen with Tiffany Bader Ep. 4

🌿 Learn more about Jeff Senger:
https://www.instagram.com/jeff_senger/

🔥 The Wild Kitchen:
https://thewildkitchen.transistor.fm
https://instagram.com/thewildkitchen
_____

Silvercore is built on a lifetime spent outdoors, on ranges and in the company of people who live with skill, purpose and integrity.
Here you will find real conversations, fieldcraft, practical training, stories from the wild and the lessons that help us grow mentally and physically.
Whether it is a podcast with someone who has been tested, a tip you can use today or a look behind the scenes, the goal is to help you live stronger, safer and more capable in the outdoors and in life.

Silvercore Club members receive exclusive podcast episodes, online courses, insurance for their adventures and discounts on premium gear:
https://bit.ly/2RiREb4

Online Training: https://bit.ly/3nJKx7U
Training and Services: https://bit.ly/3vw6kSU
Merchandise: https://bit.ly/3ecyvk9
Blog: https://bit.ly/3nEHs8W

Host Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bader.tiffany
Silvercore Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/silvercoreoutdoors

Contact:
info@silvercore.ca
604 940 7785
www.silvercore.ca

All content on this channel is for informational purposes only.
Always follow the law, follow safe handling practices and train with qualified professionals.
Silvercore assumes no liability for the use or misuse of any information shown here.
_____

00:00 – Leaving accounting, buying a slaughterhouse, and why food pulled him in

05:10 – Why meat quality starts long before the kill floor

10:45 – Calm, responsibility, and what it means to take a life seriously

17:40 – Marbling, Wagyu, grass-fed beef, and flavor reality

24:30 – Hobby farming, bad beef, and uncomfortable truths

31:15 – What modern butcher shops often aren’t doing anymore

38:50 – Tenderloin myths, forgotten cuts, and education fatigue

46:10 – Waste, culture, and what’s been lost

55:40 – Chronic Wasting Disease Explained Honestly.What Jeff has seen firsthand and how to think clearly about risk

1:10:30 – Why Europe Treats Food Differently

1:18:45 – Teaching Kids Where Food Comes From

1:27:00 – Why Buying Less Meat Might Matter More

1:36:20 – Trade, Sharing, and Old Food Economies

1:43:50 – What Jeff Hopes People Actually Take From This