Good Old Fashioned Mustard
At Foodzie, we're all about discovering good tasting, real food. Sometimes it's an unusual, fun new combination of flavors like Bacon Peanut Brittles, Cabernet Wine Flour, or Maple Honey Caramels. Other times it's no frills, simple good food. Up The Creek Mustard isn't fancy, just a darn good mustard produced in the small town of Montgomery, West Virginia by owner, Fred Lockard. He jazzes up his humble yellow mustard (perfect slathered on wings, for simple chicken wings) with the addition of sweet onions and local West Virginia banana peppers from a nearby farm. He also makes a mean Hot Dog Sauce which doubles as an all natural 'Sloppy Joe' sauce. Fred is a long-time resident of Montgomery, West Virginia where things move a little slower. He retired from his job at Dupont and fell into his family's mustard business. Before you dig into his mustards & sauces, take a minute to meet Fred from Up The Creek Mustards!
1. What were you doing before you started making mustard?
I was a Chemical Plant Operator at Dupont for 29 years. I also remodeled and sold houses way before I knew they had a fancy name called ‘flipping’.
2. How did you decide to start making mustard?
Well my wife’s cousin started the business 15 yrs ago. After I retired from Dupont, they approached me because I had previous business experience. So my wife and I bought the business. It’s definitely a family operation. My wife and I are the only official full-timers. But we have about 6-7 family members who help us out. We just got 25 bushels of hungarian hot wax peppers that we use in the mustard. They are peppers from a local farm, Crisfield Farms – Rhone County. So we’ll get the family to help with that.
3. Which job is harder – making mustard or working at a chemical plant?
Depends on whether its January or not. When you are a Chemical Operator and you have a valve that isn’t working you still gotta go check it out and fix it. No matter how cold it is or what the weather may be. The thing I like about Up The Creek is I am my own boss. I can still see my family and go watch my grandchildren’s baseball games which was sometimes hard to do with 12 hour shifts at Dupont. But I like both jobs for different reasons.
4. What are three words that describe your product?
quick, great, unique
5. What is the best thing about living/working in West Virginia?
I think it is the honesty of the people. I have lived in this town for 40 years and I don’t have to lock up anything. It’s a very relaxed, easy-going place with beautiful scenery.
