Muirhead Gourmet Foods

Doris and Ed Simpson established their fine dining restaurant, in 1974 in what was then rural Hunterdon County, New Jersey.  Muirhead began in an old farmhouse, which they promptly painted a celery green color.  Their children helped during the restaurant years, each in their turn; Robin, Mark, Neil, and Barbara.   At the restaurant they served such delicious appetizers as Clams Muirhead, Blue Cheese Cheesecake, Onion Tart, Goat Cheese Tart, Fresh Garden Tomatoes with Pesto, Eggs with a Tapenade Sauce, Smoked Fish and many other items. Soups were an ever changing scene: Fennel, Leek and Sweet Red Pepper, Cool Lemon, Winter Squash and Pumpkin. The salad course always included fresh lettuces and herbs from the garden in season. Entrees were an individual Beef Wellington, Rack of Lamb, Sole En Papillote, Cioppino, Sole Florentine, Cornish Hen, Boneless Duck Breast. Desserts covered the rainbow with Praline Cheesecake, Linzer Torte, Raspberry Mousse, Chocolate Pot de Creme, Black Forest Torte, Coeur a la creme and many more.  The restaurant enjoyed a metropolitan popularity for twenty years, at which point Doris and Ed elected to retire the fine dining end of their business and pursue the gourmet food product portion of their endeavors.

During the years customers asked for a jar of salad dressing to go, which led Ed to formally bottle some of the items for retail sale. As the story goes, one thing led to another and Muirhead now has a an array of specialty food products for sale.. Not quite so simple though; as with anything in the field of sales, it has taken a lot of knocking on doors, phone calls, and food shows.

Today Muirhead’s line of gourmet foods include distinctive fruit butters, American style chutneys, mincemeat, fancy mustards, salad vinaigrettes, and cooking sauces.  All products are made with wholesome ingredients meaning no added preservatives, gums or color.  . Items are added to this list and on occasion deleted. Recipes are always a consideration, especially new uses and suggestions from customers.