Richard E. Davis (1926 – October 6, 2015) founded
KC Masterpiece
KC Masterpiece is a barbecue sauce that is marketed by the HV Food Products Company, a subsidiary of the Clorox Company.
History
KC Masterpiece Barbeque Sauce was created in 1977 by Richard E. "Rich" Davis M.D., a child psychiatrist practicin ...
barbecue sauce
Barbecue sauce (also abbreviated as BBQ sauce) is a sauce used as a marinade, basting (cooking), basting, condiment, or topping for meat cooked in the barbecue cooking style, including pork or beef ribs (food), ribs and chicken as food, chicken. I ...
.
Davis began his career as a child psychiatrist, instructor and author. His academic posts included appointments as professor and acting chairman of the department of psychiatry at Eastern Virginia Medical School, and later, as dean of the school of medicine at the University of North Dakota. He was the creator of K.C. Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce. In 1986, he sold the sauce to the
Kingsford division of
Clorox
The Clorox Company (formerly Clorox Chemical Company) is an American global manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products. As of 2020 the Oakland, California based company had approximately 8,800 employees worldwide. Net sales ...
Inc.
Early life and education
Davis, born in
Joplin, Missouri
Joplin is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, Jasper and Newton County, Missouri, Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. J ...
, graduated from
Topeka High School
Topeka High School (THS) is a public secondary school in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It serves students in grades 9 to 12, and is one of five high schools operated by the Topeka USD 501 school district. In the 2010–2011 school year, there w ...
in 1944, and served a year and a half in the army. After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, he attended
Washburn University
Washburn University (WU) is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,100 u ...
,
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, and
Colorado College
Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduates at its campus. The college offer ...
. While at Washburn, he was initiated into the Kansas Beta Chapter of
Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...
. He received a medical degree from the University of Kansas in 1954.
Academic and medical career
Board Certified Adult and Child Psychiatrist.
Board examiner in psychiatry and neurology 1972–1986.
Co-academic founder as associate dean of the
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) is a public medical school in Norfolk, Virginia. Founded by grassroots efforts in the Southeastern part of Virginia known as Hampton Roads, EVMS is not affiliated with an undergraduate institution and co ...
in Norfolk, Virginia.
Vice-president of health affairs and dean of the medical school at the University of North Dakota, where he helped it gain accreditation as a four-year medical school.
Published in the ''American Journal of Psychiatry'', Davis identified manic-depressive
i-polarsyndrome in childhood and its treatment. In 1983, he presented the use of lithium as a treatment at The World Congress of Psychiatry in Vienna.
Business
In 1977, he moved to
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
and began marketing various culinary concepts, including ''Muschup'' (a combination of
ketchup
Ketchup or catsup is a table condiment with a sweet and tangy flavor. The unmodified term ("ketchup") now typically refers to tomato ketchup, although early recipes used egg whites, mushrooms, oysters, grapes, mussels, or walnuts, among other ...
and
mustard
Mustard may refer to:
Food and plants
* Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment
* Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment
** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...
),
Dill
Dill (''Anethum graveolens'') is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Anethum''. Dill is grown widely in Eurasia, where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring food.
Growth ...
ed Muschup, and K.C. Soul Style Barbecue Sauce.
While Muschup and Dilled Muschup sold well, the barbecue sauce was the most popular, 3,000 cases of it quickly selling in Kansas City. He later changed its name to KC Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce.
In 1986, he sold the sauce to the Kingsford division of the Clorox company, which took the barbecue sauce nationwide. Presently it is claimed by the manufacturer to be the number 1 selling premium barbecue sauce in the country. He retained the rights to use the sauce at restaurants he was to develop. At one time several restaurants were in operation, but all have since closed.
A barbecue (dubbed the
Congressional Picnic) is held annually on the south lawn of the White House. It is open to the president and vice president, all representatives and senators, and their families. Davis and his sons twice prepared barbecues for the Congressional Picnic, once for
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
in 1992 and then for
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
in 2004.
Unfinished business
Food World: An Idea With Global Proportions For Kansas City. The Kansas City Star. Dirck Steimel. February 28, 1990.
Music
A child prodigy on the piano, Davis composed many jazz and blues numbers. He created the words and music for the
Youth Volunteer Corps of America's anthem. He also composed ''Two Piano Sonata on Themes,'' transcribed by Wally Bradford and performed at several Midwestern universities. In 1992 Davis recorded a two-piano jazz session with Grammy nominee Jay
McShann.
Honors and awards
* UMKC Henry W. Bloch School of Management Regional Entrepreneur of the Year 1995: Rich Davis, K.C. Masterpiece Barbecu
* Founding chairman of the board of the
Youth Volunteer Corps of America.
* Founding chairman of the Alliance for Epilepsy Research board.
* Davis was awarded the Distinguished Service Citation from the University of Kansas in 2002.
* Stop the Violence Coalition award, the ''Kindest Kansas Citian'' Award. 1991.
* Dr. Davis and wife Coleen were honored with the Salvation Army William Booth Award in 1993.
* American Royal
Barbecue Hall of Fame Legacy Inducte
* KC Masterpiece won the prestigious “Best Sauce on the Planet” award at the American Royal Barbecue Sauce Contest in 1980.
Books and articles
* The All American Barbecue Book (1988) Rich Davis & Shifra Stein, Vintage Books, Random House
* All About Bar-B-Q Kansas City Style (1985) Rich Davis & Shifra Stein, Barbacoa Press
* ''Grill Wars'', Forbes Magazine, June 16, 1986
* ''Best Barbecued Ribs'', Ladies Home Journal, August, 1984. (Rich Davis)
* ''Kansas City Styled Barbecue Ribs'', Playboy Magazine, August 1985. (Rich Davis)
* People Magazine, August 19, 1985. Vol. 24, No. 8.
* Dr. Rich Davis, the Sauce Doctor—R.I.P. Barbecuebible.com. By Steven Raichlen.
* The Kansas City Star. Rich Davis, founder of KC Masterpiece and barbecue legend, dies.
* Legacy.com.
References
External links
KC Masterpiece television commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H61GBmxFR_I* American Royal Hall of Fame Biography http://www.barbecuehalloffame.com/p/getconnected/legacy-inductees/236
* KC Masterpiece founder Rich Davis passes away at 89. Fox 4 Kansas City.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Rich
1926 births
2015 deaths
American psychiatrists
People from Kansas City, Missouri
University of North Dakota faculty