Cresta Beall of Bridge City loves to cook. Frequently when she used seasoning blends available on the market, her hands would swell. The problem was too much salt in the seasonings. She started to blend her own to try and find a combination that tasted good and gave her the results she wanted without causing swelling in her extremities.

She was one of these country cooks that didn’t use recipes, but her husband Gary likes consistency in his meals. “I started doing this because my husband likes for everything to taste the same, every time. So I started writing down what seasonings I used in recipes. If I make something up, I don’t follow recipes, I just do it from scratch,” said Cresta. “I started to experiment with different seasonings to see how it tastes and then we started getting our friends to come over and taste test and our family to see what they thought about it.”

“My son, Hunter, he’s 10, he helps me mix up seasonings and experiment and stuff, too.”

After about one and a half to two years of trying different concoctions, Cresta had developed several blends that were not only well received by her husband, but also by friends and family.

“We were doing it strictly for us in the beginning,” said Cresta. “It tasted good enough I thought I could sell it in a store. It snowballed from there.”

Gary posted online on Facebook that they were going to start selling seasonings in September.

Cresta freaked out a little bit.

“We don’t even have a business,” she told him.

“It just snowballed, I’ve been jumping through hoops trying to get everything accomplished so we could have it out by the beginning of September; getting licenses, permits.

You have to have a manufacturer’s license to be able to have your own seasoning.

Even though I don’t manufacture it, TexJoy does, you still have to have a manufacturers license because my name’s on the label.” There was even more paperwork that was needed to start a business, such as a DBA (doing business as) and filing a corporation.

Everything was in place about the middle of August.

She researched online and called local offices to find out the procedures she needed to complete for the new venture.

The Hunter’s Seasoning’s became available in 22 of the 34 Market Baskets about three weeks ago. The seasoning blends are also available at Robert’s Meat Market in Pinehurst and Luv Lingerie in Bridge City. Saturday, at the Bridge City Heritage Festival was their first public event promoting Hunter’s Seasoning’s.

The seasonings are named for the couple’s son. His picture is on the labels. Cresta said she wanted something that looked dynamic and would stand out. At first they were going to go with a picture of a deer, but she said there weren’t many labels that have pictures. They also incorporate camouflage imaging on the labels.

Currently they have five blends: spicy taco and fajita; mildly spicy taco and fajita; spicy deer and hamburger; mildly spicy deer and hamburger; and spicy chili spice. The seasonings are $3.50 a bottle. They also have gift packs available.

For more information you can check out their website http://www.huntersseasonings.com or call 409-670-5456.

Pictured above: Gary and Cresta Beall of Bridge City created Hunter’s Seasoning’s after one and a half to two years of “research and development.” They named the company after their 10 year old son, Hunter. RECORD PHOTO: Penny LeLeux