Meet Marquita Gray | Owner, Chef

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

Hi Marquita, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
In simple terms Legacy. Going through my grieving process with the loss of my father, Michael Henry Gray Sr. (Big Mike), I had a dream about me standing in the middle of the store with my father’s picture on the shelves. I started to process that vision as my inheritance. It was all I could think about and I decided to share that vision with my mother, Mary Joyce Gray, my partner and right hand man. We discussed duties and started to execute a plan to bring specialty all natural charcuterie board products to the market. I helped others start so many businesses in the past I knew I could show something different in this market space. I saw the need and proceeded with the vision to bring A Mustard Seed Company to life.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
We are on a mission to establish legacy. Big Mike’s Specialty Pickles on your shelves is my goal but that alone is not my overall mission. I see graveyards differently. We go through life in pursuit of the dash between the dates on our tombstones. Purpose drives me to look beyond just monetary gain. I want to provide help to those who have lost and need help with the final step by providing tombstones for uncovered graves so that kings and queens can be found. There are so many uncovered graves in the United States not because family members did not want to cover them but merely because times are hard and life isn’t easy. My desire is to cover them one graveyard at a time.

Our Grand Champion Big Mike’s Specialty Pickle has a label for Generation II which is how we choose to define our second year in business. We plan to start making giant steps into entering the market. As we move into the fall we will have new seasonal preserves and new products emerge from customer wants and observations of what’s ripe from the local farmers we partner with to make the best products possible for our clients. All of our products including our custom made charcuterie board art is all natural and edible even from the flowers you see. We provide experience. I walk you through a grazing experience, never doing the same setup, never doing the same combo, so you understand the creation is tailored to you as the customer, the season that we are in and every item you taste is purposeful in order to excite the palate. Our Setups come with one pickle, one preserve and one raw honey selection. We are known for our sweet heat delights with two awarding winning products, Big Mike’s Speciality Pickles and Kita B’s unfiltered chipotle infused honey.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would take them where I have tasted the best of something. Houston is full of amazing spots that expand the palate. Like Lucilles, a well refined southern cuisine award winning chef Chris William can literally take you on a journey of experience with his food selection. There are many amazing chef’s like this around the world but Houston is full of them. From Tiny Boxwood to Tony Thai you can always find amazing opportunities to experience food from a chef who is passionate  about the food they serve their clientele.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I thought about this for a longtime. Even as I answer now I’m hesitant in being completely naked with you about how important a spiritual walk can be to the success of your vision. This vision was given to me and before I do anything I pray. I feel that is why I am successful, simply I connect. My father was my superman, the loss of him made me feel naked for a very long time, but “ God” in the words of my mother, Mary Gray. That phrase alone in my upbringing instills a connection in me that can never waiver. All I have to do is believe a little, God will always do the rest. You just have to have a mustard seed of faith in the God in you, you can accomplish anything.

Website: www.amustardseedcompany.com

Instagram: @amustardseedcompany

Twitter: @amustardseedcompany

Facebook: @amustardseedcompany

Youtube: A Mustard Seed Company