Today we’d like to introduce you to Raymond.
Hi Raymond, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My mother began teaching me to cook at a young age. By the age of 12, I was preparing family dinners. My dad encouraged me to try various BBQ sauce recipes for a weekend barbecue, but I wasn’t fond of any. However, I learned the essential ingredients needed for BBQ sauce.
In 1963, using my newfound knowledge and experimenting with different ingredients, I crafted my own BBQ sauce, which I named Raymond’s Original BBQ Sauce. Over the years, I shared my sauce at family gatherings, among friends, and during workplace barbecues while I served in law enforcement.
Upon retiring in 2016, my wife and family motivated me to sell my BBQ sauce at local markets. Since 2020, I’ve had the pleasure of selling my BBQ sauce every Saturday at the Tomball Farmers Market, the third-largest certified farmers market in Texas.
Over the past five years, my product line has grown to include:
Two delicious sugar-free options, a fantastic spicy sauce featuring Peri Peri peppers, my best seller made exclusively with Bulleit® Bourbon, and a unique spice blend that is sodium-free.
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My wife, Debra, and I have built a large and enthusiastic customer base. Our customers have taken Raymond’s Original BBQ Sauces to various countries, including Canada, France, Austria, South Africa, Australia, The Bahamas, and the United Kingdom, always receiving rave reviews. BBQ lovers across Kansas City, St. Louis, Memphis, New Orleans, the Carolinas, and many other states have enjoyed our sauces.
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I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Initially, I only marketed one version of my bbq sauce – the Original. However, customers continually request variations of the original recipe and I now feature 8 variations of the Original flavor. One struggle has been to resist making variations that stray too far from my original recipe and style. Another struggle has been maintaining my price point amid the higher costs of ingredients and supplies. Lastly, I have resisted offers to sell my products on store shelves because doing so would require me to substitute lesser ingredients to make the store margins profitable. I am happy serving farmers market customers who appreciate that my sauces are made without corn syrup, preservatives or over-processing.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I was a police officer, sergeant of police and investigator in Oakland, California. I worked patrol, narcotics, swat and supervised patrol, swat and a multi-agency narcotics task force.
After 18 years in law enforcement, I became an attorney licensed to practice law in California, Louisiana, District of Columbia and Texas.
For 22 years, I defended airlines, national banks and corporate clients as a litigator, prosecuted criminals as a deputy district attorney and acted as a pro tem judge. I tried more than two dozen trials in state and federal courts and argued appeals in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and Louisiana appellate courts.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
My early introduction to cooking resulted from a very introverted childhood. I wouldn’t play with other children , nor would I visit families with kids my age. I would simply stay in the car while my parents and brother visited friends. My mom was afraid that my strange personality would preclude marriage, so she taught me how to be self-reliant. Fortunately, I evolved and am happily married to Debra. A bonus of sorts for her is that I love cooking and consider the kitchen to be my realm. Actually, it was Debra who inspired me to sell my bbq sauce.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @RaymondsBBQ
- Facebook: @RaymondsBBQ
