Published June 23rd, 2008 in the Traverse City Record Eagle

Colonel Mustard: Brownwood Farms keeps winning prestigious contests

by Nancy Krcek Allen

If Jeff Hughes offers to let you see his medals you might think he won them in battle. But his was a different kind of fray. Take him up on the offer and you'll discover he won the medals battling other mustards in the Napa Valley Mustard Competition.

The festival celebrated its 15th anniversary of fierce competition this year. Food journalists and chefs judged more than 400 mustard entries in 19 categories. Entries came from seven countries, including Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden and the U.S.

Hughes and Steve deTar are co-owners of Brownwood Farms in Williamsburg, an off-shoot of deTar's family business, Brownwood Acres. When producing the mustards, salsa, preserves, chutney, marinades, fruit butters and barbecue sauces became too much for deTar, who wanted to focus on his cherry natraceutical business, Brownwood Acres Foods, he invited Hughes to step in to run a new company to make the products.

"I worked at the original Brownwood Country Store, started in 1945 by Mary Louise Morse," Hughes said. "While I was in college, from 1981 through 1984, I made the fudge in kettles with Steve's brother John. So I had ties to Brownwood. This new business wasn't on the radar. I received a call from Steve with the offer and it took me a couple weeks to decide."

He seems delighted that he did.

Brownwood Farms now produces more than 30 products under its own label, with more on the way, and around 40 more under private labels. There are several new mustards and a salsa in the works. The three current top sellers are Kream Mustard, Cherry Barbeque Sauce and Cherry Salsa.

"I believe that we were the first to come out with a cherry salsa without tomatoes," said Hughes.

In 2006, on a whim, Hughes entered the Kream Mustard in the Napa Valley competition.

"I sent it in around the first or second week in January, then forgot about it. The first week in March I heard that we had won a gold medal in the Sweet-Hot category, the most competitive and by far the hardest, category," said Hughes. "I went out to Napa Valley. It was amazing to be in with Plochman's and all the major mustard producers, standing next to mustard icons who were probably thinking, ‘You just took away my medal.’"

"I had sent a sampler to the Oakville Grocery in Napa Valley (a very prestigious gourmet store), but never heard from them. After we won, I brought some of our mustard to them and there still wasn't much response. Then a week later we started getting orders. They order from us regularly now."

Business is good for Brownwood Farms. They run production daily and produce mustards about every three days. "The Kream Mustard is labor intensive because it's egg-based and cooked," Hughes said. In the off-season, Hughes develops new mustards. "Mustard is a phenomenal taste. We go with our gut feeling and with what we think tastes best. We're not flashy or really complex. We try to keep it simple."

Hughes has continued to compete with his products. Brownwood Farms went on to win a silver medal this year for the Kream Mustard. The Barbeque Mustard won silver in 2007 and a gold medal in 2008. The American Royal barbeque Competition in Kansas City, MO., with more than 450 participants, awarded the Cherry Barbeque Sauce a fifth place in 2005.

With Hughes' philosophy, it's likely Brownwood Farms will continue to amass medals: "We try to please as many tastes as we can and we're choosy who sells our products - no mass merchandisers or supermarket chains - only smaller specialty retailers like Burritt's, Maxbauer's and wineries like Chateau Grand Traverse."

Hughes loves to cook and has always been in a small family business so Brownwood Farms is a good fit.

"It's been a great ride so far. My degree was in finance and economics," he said. "I thought that I was going to be a banker."

Brownwood Barbeque Mustard-Crusted Whitefish

1&1/2 lbs. boned and skinned whitefish fillets
1 c. finely ground cornmeal
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Brownwood Farms Barbeque Mustard, as needed
4 T. extra virgin olive oil, more as needed
Lemon wedges

Divide the fillets into four equal portions -- either four small fillets or cut pieces from one large fillet. Rinse and pat them dry with paper towels. Spread the cornmeal and some salt and pepper together on a plate. Scoop several tablespoons of the mustard into a small bowl. Brush a whitefish fillet or portion with a thick layer of the mustard on both sides. Dip the fish into the cornmeal and pat it evenly over the fillet. Set the fillet on another plate and repeat with remaining four portions of fish.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Heat a skillet just large enough to hold at least half the fish over medium heat and add half the oil. (If you have a skillet large enough to cook all the fish at once, by all means, use it.) When it is hot, place two of the fillets in and sauté them until golden on one side. Flip the fish and cook until the second side is golden and the flesh is opaque and flaky. Place fish on oven-proof plate and put into the oven to stay warm while you repeat the process with the remaining two portions of fish. Serve fish hot with lemon wedges on the side. Makes 4 servings.

Brownwood Farms Mustard Vinaigrette

Depending upon the mustard, this vinaigrette will thicken and emulsify. The sweeter the mustard, the less oil you'll need to use. So start with less and taste as you add oil.

1 heaping T. Brownwood Farms Mustard -- your choice of Kream, Barbeque, Cherry Honey or Blossom Honey Mustard
3 T. cider or white wine vinegar
1/3 to 2/3 cup canola, grapeseed or extra virgin olive oil-or a mixture

Set your bowl up so that it won't move. A damp paper or cloth towel wrapped around the bottom forms a solid base. Place the mustard and vinegar into a mixing bowl. Whisk well to combine. You may also pour them into a blender.

Measure out oil into a container with a spout or lip. In a thin stream, whisk the oil into the acid-mustard mixture. If you use a blender, pour the thin stream of in while the blender is running. Taste the vinaigrette with a lettuce leaf before you add all the oil. Adjust the flavors of the vinaigrette with oil, acid, salt and pepper. The amounts can vary widely due to the sweetness or acidity of the mustard and vinegar.

Serve your dressing on green, mixed vegetable or legume salads, use it as a marinade or as a sauce for fish or chicken. Makes about 6 to 8 servings.

Back to Top