Copyright © 2008 Rieker's Gourmet Blend™, Inc. All rights reserved.
Larry Rieker, with his wife Rachael.
701-891-9334
In 1986 Larry finally had the chance to show off his passion for food by purchasing his first Restaurant. And now, after 25 years of owning and operating not only his own restaurants but taking on jobs such as Executive Chef & Manager for other owners, Larry decided; although it had been a great ride, 25 years was long enough. Today, he dedicates his time to "Rieker’s Gourmet Blend" seasoning’s. And here is the story about how it all started.
Because of his good friend John in Oregon; who in turn had a good friend that worked for the "Schilling Spice" company, his friend John would receive a little surprise package on occasion containing spices from all over the world. Being facetious about it, John said, “and what the hell am I going to do with these!” The fact is, John’s a great cook. Larry in turn said, “well it says what the spice is and where it's from, so let’s cook something with them.” And of course as you may have guessed, this is how Larry started playing around with spices, creating his own blends, and then because of all the accolades he received, knew he had created some dandy formulations.
In 1997 Larry met a man that came into the restaurant who said “that is the best steak I have ever had in my life, it must be marinated”. Larry told his patron “No. It wasn’t marinated. I just put on my secret seasoning I make”. His customer then said, "if you want to market that seasoning I can help you". It was this gentleman who put Larry in touch with the right connections and "Rieker’s Gourmet Blend" was born in July of 2000.
"Rieker’s Gourmet Blend" has consistently grown over the past 10 years. Larry contributes this success to having the best, and most loyal customers and distributors one could ask for. "They spread the word and don’t keep my secret their secret. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart”.
Recently, Larry determined that running a restaurant, along with trying to fulfill & ship online orders, and likewise distributor orders, in addition to managing the ordering, receiving & stocking, of his own orders, plus attempting to sneak in a food show here and there to sell his products, and last but not least performing product demo's in new or existing stores and meat shops was getting to be a little too much.Although Larry’s passion for cooking and food is still evident, he wants to approach it in a new way. He is hoping to find some time to enjoy two of his long lost hobbies --Fishing and playing golf. That is “I can fill out the score card before the round. This way the stress of the round is taken care of and I can enjoy myself much more."TESTIMONIALS
In 2006 Jim Houck of Akaska, SD won the Beef Cook-Off at the Farmer & Rancher Fun Day in Mobridge, SD using the "Magic Dust" Seasn -All. Our Congratulations to Jim & Erna. In 2005, Travelocity in Mott, ND even selected The Final-Go-Round as a Top 10 Best Kept Secrets in ND in the Local Secret, Big Find contest. Winner of the 2004, Mower County Beef Cookoff, Glenn Medgaarden credited his "Magic Dust" Season-All with helping him prepare the prize winning grilled steak. Not only did Glenn win the 2004 cook off he also won it again in 2007!“My son gave me a bottle of your “I Hate Meatloaf’ seasoning and we love it thank you!"Judy Wisnieski of Lead Hill, AR
“Don’t ever stop making your seasonings. We wouldn’t know how to cook without them. We’ve never found any better than yours” Don & Sharon Wiener, Summerville, South Carolina
”Do you still make your “Mean Bean” seasoning it is one of our favorites."Robert Green of Towner, ND
“We’ve a lot of friends and relatives around here that really like your seasonings. In fact we have conjured up a hamburger recipe based on your rub. It’s called “Rieker Burger’s” and it’s becoming well known. It’s pretty tasty."Bill Everhart of Buffalo WY
“We were on vacation last summer and bought some of your seasonings in Mobridge, SD and were very impressed with the delicious flavor they gave to our meat and potatoes.Mr. & Mrs. Jim Rolfes of LeMars, IA
“Thanks again Larry for a wonderful product. Next time we are in your area we will stop in to experience your “Out of this world Prime Rib” !!
Glenn Medgaarden of Austin, MN
Introducing Larry Rieker of Rieker's Gourmet Blend, Inc. ...
Larry, was born and raised in Grant County North Dakota, and was a graduate of Elgin High School in 1969. He also served one hitch in the U S Air Force during the Vietnam Era. Next, he worked in commercial construction for a number of years and became a Construction Superintendent for a 200+ million dollar a year construction company from Seattle.
Riekers Gourmet Blend ™
508 8th Street West, Lemmon, SD 57638
701-891-9334, 605-374-7971-FAX E-Mail: Info@RiekersGourmet.com
