Every year at Christmas my mother cooks an amazing feast. The main course rotates and the side dishes get tweaks according to what is fashionable in food that year, but we always, always, always have cranberry sauce. Not fancy cranberry sauce, mind you. Cranberry sauce from a can, spruced up with a few fresh berries. It might be served alongside horseradish encrusted prime rib with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and chestnut stuffing with rye bread and sausage, but there it is: the traditional Demase family cranberry sauce. Last year I tried to dress up the presentation a bit, but my mom wasn't too excited about it (see picture). Every family or group gathering during the holidays has their traditions, and Whole Foods Market is proud to be a part of our customers' yearly celebrations. We are so happy to be a part of your traditions, and we want to make sure everything we do is contributing to your best holiday yet. Our Team Members welcome your questions about our cheeses, meats, fresh produce and baked goods to ensure that you are getting exactly what you need to satisfy and delight your family and holiday guests.My team has been reminiscing about their favorite Whole Foods' holiday memories from years past:
From George: Shift Leader
“When I was working in the seafood department, Christmas Eve was always a very busy day, and one of our fun traditions was that each team member would talk about what dishes would be cooked at their own personal holiday dinner. I would talk about how my family would make several seafood dishes: linguine with clam sauce, mussels, baked stuffed shrimp, and haddock with a topping of shrimp, scallops & breadcrumbs. Not to mention the final course of lobster and king crab legs! The fun of working the holidays was talking about how your family celebrated, and hearing from our customers who also tell you their traditions. It is great to hear how people from cultures different from your own celebrate with their dishes, and to feel the excitement of everyone's anticipation of creating new memories of another holiday.”
From Matt: Accounting Team Member
“My favorite holiday memory comes from last year during the two days prior to Christmas. The store was a buzzing with holiday vibes, everyone was festive and cheerful. I was helping customers get their catering orders and locate products. My favorite moment is not so much one incident, but the holiday season as a whole. Customers got exactly what they wanted: friendly service with a smile, the fresh products they know and love, and to be taken care of on every level. This is unlike some other stores I had been in during the holidays, where all you get is a big ball of coal: impersonal services, people who don't seem to be enjoying their jobs, and inferior product quality. Remember where the holly jolly folks are...HO HO Whole Foods!”
For me, my favorite holiday memory from Whole Foods comes from my first Christmas season with the company. I was a Team Member in a brand new store, working in the cheese department. The crowds were enormous and as the week before Christmas moved along my arms began to ache from building cheese platters and preparing garlic and lemon olives for antipasto trays. My team was getting tired, and to keep their spirits up, I purchased an assortment of Santa hats for everyone - just a little holiday cheer. I didn't even know if our Store Team Leader would let us wear them, but he did! The hats reminded us all of the fun of the holidays and gave us the boost we needed to keep going. Now, every year, I buy Santa hats for my whole team. It's one of my new favorite holiday traditions.What are your favorite holiday traditions and what role has Whole Foods Market played in them? We'd love to know.
