Spiegel makes it his mission to rehabilitate second-most despised food in America

By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press

Tofu is not an easy sell.

Phil Spiegel knows.

"Most everybody has heard of it, but they still don't know what to do with it," he said. "Or they've had it and they don't want to try it again."

Tofu is the second-most despised food in the United States, behind liver, Spiegel said.

"It's interesting how people will have an aversion, even from things they've just heard," he said. "The people that come up and they go, 'Oh, no thank you, I'm not a tofu person.' I'm trying to figure out what a tofu person looks like."

Spiegel has embarked on a campaign to change the public's opinion of tofu. He has opened a business, Small Planet Tofu, based in Newport, Wash.

"Tofu is a viable, good food choice," he said. "It's one of the most versatile foods. It's a great source of protein, and there's no cholesterol in any vegetable source of protein."

A vegetarian, Spiegel got the idea to make tofu from "The Book of Tofu," by William Shurtleff.

As the amount of tofu he made for friends and family grew, Spiegel began to consider turning his passion for tofu into a business.

He began Small Planet Tofu in June 1992, balancing his full-time job as an electrical engineer with part-time tofu production at night. He rented space in Spokane and made deliveries during his lunch hour.

The top standard flavors are garlic and herb, spicy, curry and sun-dried tomato. He also makes artisan versions injected with a variety of flavorings, including lemongrass ginger, sesame, chipotle cilantro, green tea, garlic and ginger -- and the novelty Scarborough Tofu, which uses parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.

Making tofu in small batches is the difference, Spiegel said. Most tofu on the market is mass-produced and mediocre, he said.

That, he said, is why most customers don't like tofu on their first try.

"Not all tofu is the same," he said. "It was never meant to be mass-produced."

Tofu was originally handmade daily and sold by mom-and-pop grocery stores in Japan, Spiegel said. It was supposed to be consumed the same day or the next.

"I've trademarked our tofu the 'micro-brew of tofu,'" he said. "It's got these unique flavors and that quality that you can tell the difference."

Spiegel's idea of infusing flavors is a "brilliant" move, similar to the multiple flavors available in the tea industry, said Camano Island, Wash.-based food consultant Graham Kerr, former host of the "Galloping Gourmet" TV show.

"He has taken a neutral-tasting product and really made it into a complex, enjoyable thing," Kerr said.

This summer, Spiegel introduced a new tofu spread, which he describes as a cross between hummus and a flavored cream cheese.

He buys soybeans from a group of Kansas farmers and draws organic-certified herbs and spices from various suppliers, using regional producers when available.

Spiegel also produces a baked, ready-to-eat version.

Kerr compared Spiegel to a salmon going upstream, given the uphill battle he faces.

Kerr likened Spiegel's products to the brandywine tomato, which he said is "truly ugly" in appearance, but "when you taste that tomato, it is absolutely superb."

While dining during an 18-course emperor's banquet in Kyoto, Japan, Kerr said he tried a 1-inch cube of tofu set on an edible leaf of gold foil.

Prior to that experience, Kerr said, he did not understand the appeal of tofu.

"(Spiegel) is getting as close to that standard as anything I've ever tasted anywhere else," Kerr said.

Spiegel said he believes the public perception of tofu is slowly changing as younger people become more health-conscious and organics become more prominent.

Small Plant Tofu distributes around the Pacific Northwest, primarily in Washington and Idaho, but also northern California and Montana.

Spiegel said the business is at a third to half capacity. He'd like to expand slightly to 75 percent capacity for flexibility, but not much beyond that point.

"When you get too big, there's too much of a temptation to compromise the method we're using," he said.

Labor is the biggest cost, which is why Small Planet Tofu's products cost a little bit more, Spiegel said.

"The saving grace is our tofu basically tastes good," he said. "I tell people, 'Food should taste good, and so should tofu.'"

Phil Spiegel
Occupation: Owner of Small Planet Tofu
Age: 56
Hometown: Kansas City, Mo.
Current location: Newport, Wash.
Family: Divorced, four children
Education: Bachelor of science in electrical engineering, University of Kansas

Online
www.smallplanettofu.com