Beth Mueller
I have a huge background in sales and marketing. Managed to go back later in life and get a B.A. in Philosophy at Mississippi State University followed by a brief one-year stint at the University of Tulsa Law School before deciding being a lawyer wasn’t what I wanted to do when I grew up so I decided to go get an RN, ADN degree. I learned a lot about diet and nutrition, but again not what I wanted to be, at least not in the current state of healthcare in the US. Loved each and every one of my patients and hated not having enough time each one of them deserved.
My heart is really in hospitality. I co-owned and operated a huge nightclub with my husband in Port Charlotte, Florida from 1997 to 2003, called Area 51 Nightclub. It was 9,000 square feet of controlled chaos where I learned the arts of mixology, high volume bartending, inventory control, food safety, and how to throw one heck of a party! I’m a little too old for living that extreme nightlife now.
Instead, I spend lots of time cooking and mixing drinks for friends out in the “man cave.” They make great guinea pigs for all my test recipes. Between them and the neighbors, you can be sure the recipes I write are nothing but the best.
I’ve been cooking and collecting cookbooks for over 40 years. I am content to sit and read cookbooks like others read fiction novels!
I’m a self-taught home chef that learned a few tips and tricks by cooking shows long before the Food Network was even a thing. Don’t get me wrong, Food Network was my jam in it’s earliest days! Does anyone even remember when their website was foodtv dot com?
I do not have any one style of food or cooking method I prefer. I just love to cook. I feel so blessed to finally have a full-time career that allows me to cook and share my favorite recipes and cooking lessons I have learned along the way!
Since leaving the frontlines of nightclub/bar management I live a pretty boring life. I tend to keep myself occupied with Pear Tree Kitchen, but feel free to look me up on Facebook and drop a note to say hi. I’ll respond quicker though if you find me through “The Pear Tree Kitchen” on Facebook!
You can also contact me by email: Beth @ PearTreeKitchen.com
Ron Unz
I am a scientist by trade, but a foodie and beer nerd at heart. I spend my days in my office or lab and my evenings cooking meals or dreaming about beer (I swear, I’m not an alcoholic. I just really like beer). Cooking hasn’t always been one of my passions, but over the past 10-12 years, it has become one of my favorite ways to relax after a hard day. Work-life can be stressful sometimes, so it’s great for me to have a creative outlet. Cooking also really brings harmony to my home. The kitchen is the center of our household and brings our family and friends closer together.
I didn’t really have a passion for cooking until I reached high school. Cooking was a necessity more than a luxury at the time. There weren’t good cooks in the house at the time (father nor stepmother were very good in the kitchen), so it was up to me a lot of nights to figure out what and the hell was for dinner.
I didn’t really take cooking seriously until my Freshman year of college. I lived with my grandmother and her drunkard boyfriend at the time and both were terrible behind the stove. I feel dirty saying my grandmother couldn’t cook. Aren’t all grandmother’s supposed to be good cooks?! However, my grandmother didn’t have a clue and Dave liked to cook-while-inebriated (CWI). With Dave cooking, you never knew what monstrosity was going to be stewing when you came home from class.
I applied to the Pennsylvania Culinary Arts institute later in my freshman year of college.
Oddly enough, my wife applied to the exact same school as I did at the same time. We both decided to not go to culinary school and continue our education at Mississippi State University (Go Bulldawgs!).
We would meet about a year later and our culinary forces would combine. Now I love dabbling with grilled delights, homebrew, cured meats, and all kinds of unhealthy delectables. Don’t get me started on my homemade bacon!
I’m also an avid homebrewer. Besides cooking, homebrewing drives my social life and what I do with most of my remaining free time. I have been brewing for almost 10 years now and have managed to win a few awards for my goofy creations. I love all things beer: brewing beer, cooking with beer, sharing beer, and educating people on how to evaluate beer. I’m also a BJCP certified beer judge. You can expect some food pairings and beer education out of some of my posts.
Ron @ PearTreeKitchen.com