houstonchronicle.com
By J.C. Reid July 3, 2015
Louie Mueller takes his barbecue knowledge to world locales
image from entry, with caption: The beef ribs at Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor
The line to get into Louie Mueller Barbecue in tiny Taylor on a Saturday is a veritable United Nations of barbecue fans.
You hear French and German spoken, along with Japanese and Spanish. A lilting English accent is mixed in with the slow drawl of locals waiting to order their regular plate of sliced brisket, peach cobbler and iced tea.
With its booming international popularity, Texas barbecue often is compared to a worldwide religion, and Louie Mueller Barbecue in Williamson County in Central Texas is a destination for the smoked-meat faithful.
Which is just how third-generation owner and pitmaster Wayne Mueller envisioned it. Mueller, a former marketing executive, has devised and implemented a deceptively simple strategy to promote both his restaurant and the culture of Texas barbecue.
"I'm taking Texas barbecue to the people," Mueller says.
Consider his recent month-long trip around the world. He started in Pennsylvania at "Eat Retreat," a national gathering of culinary professionals that celebrates local food cultures and traditions.
From there he flew to Tokyo as an ambassador of the U.S. Department of State's "Chef Corps," which promotes culinary engagement in America's formal and public diplomacy efforts. Mueller presented lectures about Texas barbecue tradition as well as cooked barbecue for culinary professionals and students in several Japanese cities.
He then flew to London where his beef ribs were awarded "World's Tastiest Feast" by global food website Foodie Hub. The win is even more impressive when you consider he was competing against other traditional dishes such as Margherita pizza from Naples, Italy, and pan-fried dumplings from Shanghai, China.
The next stop was Milan, Italy, where he was a featured presenter at the USA Pavilion of the Expo Milano 2015 - a world's fair where the theme is sustainable food practices and recognition of international culinary traditions. Mueller was invited to participate by his friend Mitchell Davis, who is the executive vice president of the James Beard Foundation, which is coordinating the USA Pavilion's activities.
After a brief return home, Mueller and his team packed up his truck and trailer and drove for two straight days to New York City where he participated for the first time in the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party. He cooked and served more than 1,000 racks of beef ribs to guests who mobbed Madison Square Park in Manhattan.
For now, Mueller is back in Taylor and manning the pits to give his manager and right-hand man Jason Tedford, who oversaw operations while he was gone, a much-needed vacation.
Going forward, Mueller will continue to take on apprentices in his mission to spread the gospel of Texas barbecue. He'll hand pick barbecue disciples from around the world to learn the fundamentals of smoking meats the Texas way at Louie Mueller Barbecue.
Mueller has trained some of the world's top Texas-style barbecue pitmasters including Thomas Abramowicz of the Beast in Paris, France and Daniel Delaney of Delaney Barbecue in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Billy Durney of Hometown Barbecue in Red Hook, Brooklyn, is one of Mueller's most celebrated disciples and offered invaluable assistance during his recent trip to the Big Apple festival.
Craig White, another Mueller protégé, opened the Texas-style barbecue joint White Smoke in Tokyo (currently closed due to a fire) and provided logistics and cooking assistance to Mueller while he was there.
To some, Mueller's campaign to take a hyper-local tradition such as Texas barbecue to the global masses may seem quixotic. But in a world where culinary traditions are blasted on social media and television, Texas barbecue with its mouth-watering cuisine and irresistible history, is a natural and inevitable subject.
Undoubtedly, Mueller's efforts are felt by other Texas barbecue joints - the high profile he generates in the media results in foot traffic in barbecue joints throughout the state. Mueller says he still would like to open an outpost of Louie Mueller Barbecue in Houston, but his incentives go beyond business.
"I do it for that guy," says Mueller, pointing to a picture of his father and legendary pitmaster Bobby Mueller, who died in 2008. Mueller feels obligated to ensure that the traditions of Texas barbecue founded by his father and his grandfather, Louie, continue even as it is adopted all over the world.
Mueller is quick to note that any of the famous Texas barbecue families - such as the Schmidts, Blacks and Bracewells - would also make great ambassadors of Texas barbecue. But for now, he's out on the road telling the story of Louie Mueller Barbecue and the history of Texas barbecue.
"People keep asking to hear about the story of Texas barbecue, and I keep raising my hand," Mueller says. "And they keep inviting me."
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