Meet Gretchen Mueller | THE REDHEAD – OF FAT MAN AND THE REDHEAD” – “

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gretchen Mueller and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gretchen, what makes you happy? Why?
So I may be combining some of the questions… but to the question of – WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY & WHY?… I truly enjoy being with good friends and family. Especially in this day and age when it has been difficult to see each other, get together, – it makes the time you do spend all the more precious . And if you can not get together, a nice conversation works well also. Scott’s Family is Local/Arizona – mine is Midwest/Eastcoast . You may think we see his a lot more often being closer but that is not always the case as having starting our own business, it eats up a lot of “free time” making it not always the easiest to arrange time that works for everyone.

Usually when we are to get together it undoubtably involves food as both Scott & myself have been in the food industry in one aspect or another for all our lives. one of our huge joys is feeding people and getting feedback/reaction. We often experiment with new recipes with friends & family first – this plays into our business as well – as speaking of ‘FRIENDS” I feel like we have made so many friends thru working events for the business. it is so rewarding to see people you know well – or just met truly enjoy your creations, Many of our customers have stopped by our booth intending to do a quick buy or see what we have to offer …and we end up having a 10- 20- 30 minute conversation with them about not only our product, but everything under the sun… some of them make us feel like we have known them for a long time and could sit and have a cocktail and visit for hours and THAT is so totally cool! – again – it makes me happy to know they enjoy our cooking – but also just to meet new people and be able to have quality conversations with so many people that we would probably have not met otherwise.

Whether it is with family and or tried and true friends – or ones you just met 3 minutes ago. People NEED interaction, and people always have an opinion about food… good, bad or ugly . It is very rewarding to receive positive feedback from everyone, regardless as to who they are as sometimes we have doubts… and when those doubts are erased – it’s a good day! Happiness is what you make of it and a big part of mine is providing good food and having people enjoy it and be willing to talk about it. having started our business literally 1 month before Covid “shut” everything down, has made me make more of an effort to stay in touch with people I know & Love, and meet new ones each chance I get – That makes me happy…

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Both of us have years in food service in many different aspects. Baking is my favorite – but love cooking/experimenting with different flavor combinations in all types of cooking. I also have many years invested in retail/marketing & display and have found that that helps in cooking as well. Scott also has years of food service experience both front and back of house. he also has a background in construction He served on the U.S. Culinary Arts team for the Army while overseas and won many awards for his creations with his combination of construction and expertise in patisserie giving him a unique gift.

He developed his signature dry BBQ Rub “RUB IT ALL OVER ME” while serving overseas. This is the product that has inspired the product line that we currently offer – as we like to show that while BBQ Rub is great on meats – it can be good in so many other things as well. – “its not just for BBQ anymore!.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Arizona truly is a “GRAND state… living in the valley – we would of course take them to Camelback Mountain for a hike and to see the sights. depending on the time of year possibly a spring training game – or the Az Diamondbacks. Sedona and the Grand Canyon are obviously MUST SEE’s – but there are SO MANY beautiful places in Ariz that don’t get the recognition that they do…

The Salt River canyon is Beautiful – Strawberry/Pine – Tonto National Bride – Jerome – hanging on the side of Mingus mountain.. – Camp Verde/Fort Verde bordering the Verde River… . Down south is a destination as well – we love Bisbee and Tombstone is also a MUST DO – however Kartchner caverns are beautiful – Sierra Vista and Dragoon – also beautiful places..

Depending on the time of year again – Tubbing down the Salt river is always in the plans..

we tell friends one trip is not enough – you have to come back…
as far as places to eat – yeah there are alot of good popular places – but a lot of the fun is finding the little out of the way places you come across while traveling and even if the food isn’t always all that – you create great memories

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Our Families and friends have been our biggest supporters. I give a Huge shout out to my Mom – Sara – who “back in the day” was a Home Economics Professor, she is a super talented person in too many ways to mention, but is a Master cook and with 4 daughters before a son she always had us watching learning at her elbow as she was cooking – inspiring all of us. We also reached out to “SCORE’ and got some mentorship from ASU. which were both huge helps as well. our friends give us continued encouragement and our families on both sides have given us emotional – mental and financial support as well – Again – Families and Friends make the difference.

Website: FAT MAN AND THE REDHEAD.COM – website in under construction/pause – they may contact us thru phone – email  – Instagram or FB messaging

Instagram: FATMANANDTHEREDHEAD

Facebook: FATMAN AND THE REDHEAD

Other: ** WEBSITE IS ON “PAUSE” – UNDER CONSTRUCTION DUE TO MAKING CHANGES/UPGRADES