Sisters Heather Goldberg and Jenny Engel both turned vegan 12 years ago, in college.
At San Francisco State University and University of California, Santa Cruz, respectively, they both studied environmental science, quickly making a connection between the meat and dairy industry and the environment.
Post-grad, the two worked together at TreePeople, an environmental non-profit. They always discussed business ideas in the company’s yurt, a forest-like tent structure complete with spiders and praying mantises. It only seemed natural that they would start a company that meshes their two passions – healthy food and the environment.
But, they didn’t want a restaurant. The best way to get the word out about vegan cuisine, they thought, was to educate. And so Spork Foods was born, bringing vegan cooking classes to the world online, and in person to Angelenos in the company’s West Hollywood kitchen.
The vegan chefs will be signing “Spork-Fed,” their new vegan cookbook, at Magpie in Manhattan Beach tonight. A portion of the proceeds will go toward Noah’s Bark pet rescue.
Spork Foods has students in Ireland and Germany – this week, someone enrolled from Taiwan. Online classes range from $7.95 per month or $74.95 annually, for a four-course cooking class each month and access to archived episodes.
The girls are also available to answer food 911 questions online. Can’t find a product in the grocery store? Does your child have food allergies? Members can shoot them an email.
The girls are fascinated by the history of food, and how it relates to health, which is reflected through the cookbook’s ‘for your smarts’ section. Radishes, Goldberg explained, were originally black and cultivated in Egypt 4,000 years ago. Onions, she continued, can prevent bone loss.
The sisters moved to Manhattan Beach in 1994, after their family’s Sherman Oaks home was condemned in the Northridge earthquake. They now live in Los Angeles, near the Spork Foods offices.
