Raye’s Mustard takes gold in global contest

EASTPORT – The Rayes didn’t have to travel to Turin, Italy, to race for the gold. Last week they picked up the precious medal at the 2006 World-Wide Mustard Competition in Napa Valley, Calif.

The company’s Maine-made Downeast Schooner was voted top Classic American Yellow Mustard.

This year’s gold medal is the latest in a long line of honors won by Raye’s Mustard line of all-natural gourmet and specialty mustards.

In all, Raye’s mustards have won more than 40 prestigious national and international awards in the past few years. Raye’s award-winning all-natural mustards are produced at the company’s 106-year-old mill.

Karen and Kevin Raye, proprietors of the historic Eastport mill, were notified Feb. 17 that their mustard had won.

The Downeast Schooner mustard is the couple’s signature mustard. Known as the “Factory Mustard,” it’s been around since the 1900s when it was used as the base sauce in sardine cans. For years, Down Easters would take their gallon buckets to Raye’s Mustard on Washington Street and fill up. “To win on the traditional mustard is kind of neat,” an enthusiastic Karen Raye said Thursday.

The mustard faced some heavy competition from companies like Plochman’s Premium Mild Yellow Mustard and Barhyte Select Organic Yellow Mustard. And companies like Grey Poupon, Benedictine Monastery and Robert Rothschild entered mustards in other categories.

“We think this is kind of neat as people are watching the Olympics and hoping that the USA will bring home a gold that we were able to bring home a gold for Maine in the mustard category,” Karen Raye said. “This is a tremendous honor for a small business competing against many larger producers.”

“We are thrilled to have our Maine-made mustard win international recognition as the premier classic American yellow mustard,” Kevin Raye added. “Raye’s Downeast Schooner mustard represents a century-old tradition of excellence and all-natural quality.”

The couple also entered mustards in other categories, including their Lemon Pepper, Fall Harvest, Sweet and Spice and Maple Horseradish. Last year, the mill won a bronze for its Fall Harvest mustard.

The award will be presented at a March 17 ceremony at the Lincoln Theater in Yountville, Calif. Nancy Raye, who formerly ran the mill for 15 years and now serves as company vice president, will accept the award on behalf of Raye’s Mustard.

A working museum, Raye’s Mustard Mill is North America’s only remaining traditional stone-ground mustard mill, using a process developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Kevin and Karen Raye are the fourth generation of Rayes to own and operate the mill, which includes the Pantry Store, a full-service gift shop and takeout business. They took over the mill last year.

Kevin and Karen Raye share management responsibilities for the business. Karen does the day-to-day duties, while Kevin, who represents the Down East region in the Maine Senate, splits his time between running the company and a consulting business along with his Senate duties.

The late J. Wesley Raye, who ran the mill until his death in 1948, founded Raye’s Mustard Mill in 1900.

His son, the late H. Wadsworth Raye, who managed the company for nearly four decades, succeeded him.

In 1986, Donald Raye succeeded his father and kept the business running while he worked on a plan to keep the operation in the family over the long term. His sister Nancy Raye took over in 1990 and transformed the business from a factory that primarily served Maine’s declining sardine industry into a producer of gourmet mustards with a full-service gift shop and takeout business.

Karen Raye is a Bangor native who has a background in marketing and wholesale.

Kevin Raye is an Eastport native. His great-grandfather, Thomas Raye, a sea captain, was a brother of mill founder J.W. Raye. Prior to his election to the Maine Senate, Kevin served as chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe.

Raye’s Mustard produces 19 varieties of gourmet mustard.

Free tours are available. For more information, visit www.rayesmustard.com or call (800) 853-1903.