Rhizocali Tempeh: Oakland, CA

We love local and supporting the local small business.  Melissa and Betsy of Rhizocali are an amazing family  focused on sustainability, local and creating delicious tempeh using the freshest of ingredients. We are excited that they joined us for a pop-up at Sanctuary Bistro.  Make sure to support them for your tempeh needs.  It is delicious.  - Jennifer

The beginnings of Rhizocali Tempeh

Rhizocali Tempeh was started after we moved here from Florida where there had been two local tempeh makers. We had become very used to eating tempeh at home and in many restaurants, prepared in a variety of very different cuisines. Here in the Bay Area we found that there were no local tempeh makers. We tried some of the national brands of tempeh and found them to be lacking. We started making our own tempeh at home in an old wine fridge. After a few unsuccessful batches we found that our tempeh was actually better than what we had been eating Florida. It occurred to us that the Bay Area could use a local tempeh maker. We started the business slowly and have been growing ever since.

Our Mission

We make small batch, vegan tempeh with organic beans. We make it in Oakland and distribute it frozen. We do not pasteurize it because that tends to change the texture, consistency and taste of the tempeh. We have selling our tempeh for about two and a half years.Our mission is simply to provide an affordable healthy food choice. We really strive to keep the price affordable and therefore available to everyone. We also try to educate those who are unfamiliar with tempeh about the advantages of eating tempeh.We are committed to the idea of eating local. We make our tempeh in Oakland and only distribute it in the Bay Area.

Anecdotes

We have done demos at Rainbow Grocery. It's so interesting to get immediate feedback from people as they try our tempeh, either for the first time or from people who have been eating since the seventies. Some love it at first bite, some do not care for it, some even tell us it's the best tempeh they've had. Many people ask if it's chicken even though of course Rainbow does not sell chicken. I remember one woman said that when she has tempeh in a curry her tongue is always chasing around with each mouthful trying find the tempeh.

Where you can find us

We mostly distribute to stores and restaurants. However, we will be doing some demos at Rainbow Grocery and Mandela Marketplace. We may also do some of the Vegan Sunday's at SOMA Streats.  Check out more locations they are available in here.

Tips

We believe that eating plant based foods is good for people and for the planet.The most common cooking tip that give for tempeh is to cook it first then season it. The way we most often cook it is to sauté it in olive oil. It can be sautéed frozen. Then cut into cubes and browned and add a little soy sauce (Or tamari for Gluten-Free). Cook for another minute or two and add it to your dish.Website: rhizocalitempeh.com