About Us

Helen Yu and Kevin Stong

Berkeley architect Kevin Stong and his friend He Hua Yu ("Helen") were vacationing in China in 2006, when Kevin became fascinated by the countless varieties of tofu he saw displayed in shop windows and food counters at markets everywhere. So fascinated in fact that upon their return to the San Francisco Bay Area, he and Helen (who had owned several tofu companies in her native China) began making plans to open an artisan ‘soybeanery’ in Berkeley. They imported machinery from China, including a rather impressive piece that bears the words, “MODEL BEAN CURD MACHINE,” written in both English and Chinese. “Helen” hired specialty chefs from Harbin to create the signature Tofu Yu firm tofu from strictly organic soybeans, and Tofu Yu was born.

Tofu Yu chefs proud of their creations

Now, with more than 16 food products in their offering and new delights being developed  everyday, Helen and Kevin continue to grow the business by incorporating new recipes for tofu products--using flavors from East and West (‘tofusion”) to the delight of their many customers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. As for the chefs from Harbin, they decided to make the Bay Area their home. You’ll still find them right here on 8^th Street happily bantering in Chinese while they create their ‘tofusion’ delights.

The Tofu Yu blog was created and is maintained by Francine Schwartz, a San Francisco Bay Area writer with a strong interest in health, fitness, and food & wine. For her blog posts, she relies on such credible and widely available sources such as the New York Times, WebMD, care2.com, and the Mayo Clinic, along with many others. Her TofuYu blog posts are a compilation of her research and interviews as well as personal experience.

Francine has created a mobile app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod--vinOrganica California. The app is a visitors' guide to wineries in California that produce their wines from organic grapes. The app is used by people from all over the world and is available for purchase on the iTunes store. Visit vinorganica.com for more information.