Taste for tempeh grows but Kitchener company has understood appeal for 20 years: Andrew Coppolino

What was once a niche food found only in specialty stores has become more widely popular in the last several years, with homegrown Henry's Tempeh leading the pack.

Tempeh, a fermented soybean cake which originated in Indonesia hundreds of years ago, is a plant-based protein source now found in mainstream grocery stores across the country. 

Henry's Tempeh, a Kitchener company started by Henry Schmidt in 2002, is the country's largest producer of organic tempeh, according to Philip Diceanu, one of the co-owners who took over the company in 2012.

Since then, Henry's Tempeh has been improving its manufacturing facility and expanding its reach. 

"The pandemic slowed things down somewhat, but otherwise, the demand has been growing every year," Diceanu said during a recent tour of the facility, marking the 20-year anniversary of the business.

With only a few ingredients, including organic Ontario soybeans, tempeh takes a couple of days to cook, package and ship.

Humans can't easily digest whole soybeans unless processed, Diceanu says.

"Raw milled soybeans are cooked in steam kettles. Then they are drained and dried before we add the inoculate, a tempeh starter called Rhizopus oligosporus."

The tempeh ferments overnight producing a fluffy mycelium culture that spreads and binds the soybeans together. The tempeh gets pasteurized, chilled, hand-cut into cakes, packaged and shipped.

The company employs 10 people, and sells tempeh from St. John's to Winnipeg with Diceanu hoping to expand its reach further west.

Tempeh rising in popularity

Often referred to as a super-nutrient, tempeh is a protein-dense, plant-based food that was purportedly first prepared on Java, an island of Indonesia.

However, it wasn't easy to find locally until Henry's came along, according to chef-owner of Waterloo's Bhima's Warung, Paul Boehmer. 

"I was buying it at a pharmacy in downtown Kitchener in the mid-nineties. The owner was Indonesian and had an aisle of Indonesian spices and other stuff," says Boehmer.

"I'm sure we were Henry's only restaurant account when they set up shop. Then the health food stores caught onto it." 

Boehmer, who opened his Waterloo restaurant in the mid-1990s and has operated a restaurant in Bali, Indonesia as well, says in Java tempeh is referred to as "Indonesian hamburger" and eventually became a foodstuff that has served vegetarian and vegan diets. 

Full Circle Grocery & Bulk has been a mainstay food shop in downtown Kitchener since 1981. Current co-owner Julia Gogoleva says Full Circle has always sold tempeh even before she and Sam Nabi took over in 2018.

"Tempeh is rising in popularity. I think it's because it's a plant-based option and it's also local," she says of Henry's.

Tip: Find a good recipe

Perhaps a bit tricky to use, Gogoleva suggests doing some research before cooking tempeh.

"I definitely recommend finding a recipe and starting to learn how to use tempeh that way. To make it really delicious, there are certain techniques to use, just like any other food."

In fact, Canada's Food Guide, revised in 2019, now includes a recipe for tempeh "nuggets," an indication of the food's acceptance as a mainstream plant-based protein. As a fermented food it can help contribute to good gut health.

Impact of pandemic

As they come out of the pandemic, Henry's has just released their version of a new tempeh "crumble," and the company is moving toward becoming a worker-owned business.

"We've thought about co-operative ownership as a sustainable, long-term goal for a local food business. The pandemic just reaffirmed all the positives we see in the move," Diceanu says.

He adds that Henry's employees are anticipating accelerated growth for what they make as human diets move toward more plant-based options in the future.

"Throughout the years, it's just gone global where many people are seeing the potential of fermented foods like tempeh," he says.