When I moved to LA roughly six years ago to become a really bad actor, I never really thought I would end up making gourmet cream cheese spreads. I mean really, what could be better than playing Cop #32 on Days of our Lives or being Will Farrell’s stand in on Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back?

As every twenty- or thirty-something who lives in LA will attest to, you can expect an annual visit from your parents. Like clockwork, my Dad (Dan Sr.) and his wife came to visit my sister Missy and me in the Fall of 2003.

Missy and I were not quite sure what we wanted to do with them. I mean, there are only so many times you can take your parents to see the "HOLLYWOOD" sign, or take a tour of star’s houses hoping to get a Scott Baio sighting, right? So we decided to have a cocktail party at Missy’s house. As usual, she made me the cook.

I called up my good friend Dan Buggy (Bug Man) in Seattle at Pikes Place Fish and had him ship down some shrimp and salmon.

We still needed something to accompany these dishes. Suddenly, during a commercial break of Sports Center, I had the brilliant idea to mix up some roasted red peppers and cream cheese for the party.

I served the spread at the party and people went really crazy over it!

Fall then turned to winter and I needed to get Christmas presents for my agents, manager, acting teachers and family. So I thought I would revert back to the spread recipe from Missy’s party. I went and bought two cases of mason jars and made

the concoction again adding some roasted garlic. Then my cousin (Cadillac Rich) downloaded a picture of me from an audition tape, we made a label that read, “Dude, Merry Christmas-Cheers, DP!!” I put a bow on top of the jar to add some holiday cheer.

When I came back from Christmas vacation, my friend Neil said that he and his mother-in-law spoke for the first time in ten years thanks to the spread! I decided I needed a name for it...

...I kept thinking of the hundreds of nicknames I have for my sister...

...My best friend Malik always calls Missy, “Missy Parker,” which started to stick, but never felt “Final.”

A big Dave Matthews Band fan, I enjoy jamming out to their tunes in the kitchen while mixing my spreads. I was in the kitchen one day and listening to a DMB song and at the end Dave just started yelling “Carter Beauford on the Drums!” over and over and over.

It hit me. “Missy Parker on the Drums” sounded great and it stuck! People were always asking for a name and here it was! I figured what the heck and decided to run with it.

Twelve flavors later and the rest is history. It’s been a crazy ride from the DMB name epiphany... to supplying the Oscar parties with my gourmet spreads... to awesome wine and appetizer tastings at local gourmet stores.

We are going to keep on truckin’ ‘til we can’t truck any more. Thanks to everyone who has helped build this awesome adventure!

Cheers!
DP Parker