Written by Pamela Patton
📷 courtesy of [Peasant Life]
JT’s Deli founder Terrie Searer has always gravitated toward a healthy lifestyle. She avoids unhealthy fats and sugars and works out every day. Gradually Terrie’s diet was made up of mostly plant-based foods as she began to eliminate meat and dairy.
About a decade ago, she was browsing the aisles of a health food store and came across a container of nutritional yeast sold as vegan Parmesan cheese. “This small container was about ten dollars,” she recalls. After reading the list of ingredients, she thought, “I can make this myself.” She came home and went to work in her kitchen, experimenting with the different ingredients until she came up with a winner to create her signature product that started it all.
For those unfamiliar with it, nutritional yeast comes from the same type of yeast used to make bread (saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast), but it’s no longer alive. The large flakes are often described as having a cheesy, nutty, savory flavor, which is why vegan and vegetarian recipes often call for it in place of cheese, and people commonly sprinkle it onto snacks like popcorn. Because it is not derived from animal or wheat products, it’s considered vegan and gluten-free.
Nutritional yeast is a good source of protein, dietary fiber, various minerals including zinc, magnesium, and copper, as well as B vitamins, and it’s a complete protein made up of all nine essential amino acids that our bodies do not produce. We need those amino acids to make our proteins, and if you eat meat, that’s from where you’re getting them. For vegans and vegetarians, nutritional yeast is an easy way to supplement one’s diet. Another plus is its savory flavor, which tastes somewhat salty but is sodium-free. “When I perfected my recipe, my granddaughter, who was about seven at the time, would eat it by the spoonful. Out of curiosity, I sprinkled it on non-dairy ice cream, and it was delicious.”
📷 courtesy of [Peasant Life]
PUTTING THE “CHICK” IN CHICKEN SALAD
Before she started eating a plant-based diet, “Or plant-powered, as I like to call it,” Terrie frequented a deli that served a delicious chicken salad. She knew she was leaving the area, so she called the restaurant for the recipe. “I essentially pleaded with the restaurant to share it with me” The deli relented, and Terrie had the recipe. Several years later when Terrie was converting to a mostly plant-based diet, she set about crafting a plant-powered version using chickpeas (garbanzo beans) instead of chicken.
But then she upped the game. “I wondered what it would taste like if I added my nutritional yeast seasoning blend into the recipe. It was great! It made it taste even better. Wow! “Subsequently, I started adding it to all the other dishes I was beginning to develop.”
HITTING THE FARMER’S MARKETS
‘You should sell this!’ is what Terrie heard over and over, and farmer’s markets seemed to be the next logical step. But Terrie is a bit of an overachiever, and she spent her summer shuttling between four different markets a week.
“Selling at a farmer’s market is difficult. I had to make, package and label all my products, tote everything there, raise the canopy, set up my booth, work the booth, then take it all down, head home, and then prepare to start the whole process over again. It was exhausting, but you get the chance to connect directly with consumers to sample and hear the amazing on how tasty and nutritious your products are!”
To her satisfaction, the markets proved to Terrie that people loved her plant-based products, vegans and non-vegans alike, and they were more than willing to pay for them.
📷 courtesy of [Peasant Life]
STEPPING INTO THE BIG TIME
Terrie realized that she needed professional help and advice if she was going to take her business to the next level. She contracted with a food consulting company to help her get her plant-based products to market sooner, hired a commercial kitchen, and created packaging and other brand elements. She then took her plant-powered salads to the Making it in Michigan trade show, where she won the Golden Ticket, meaning her plant-based products would be carried in all four Meijer Market stores.
THE REAL THING
For those who are reluctant to try her plant-based recipes because they believe they won’t taste like one made with chicken, egg, or tuna, Terrie is quick to point out that hers taste like ‘the real thing.’ “Creating an egg salad and tuna salad with the right texture was really challenging, but I discovered that tofu makes a great egg white substitute, and jackfruit has the same meaty texture as fish.”
And speaking of jackfruit, Terrie is experimenting with taking her grandmother’s BBQ pork recipe and making it plant-based using jackfruit. “A mature jackfruit is very sweet,” she explains. But, before it matures, it has a wonderful texture that absorbs flavor.”
📷 courtesy of [Peasant Life]
HER COMPANY NAMESAKE
Terrie’s dream of crafting plant-powered products is coming true, but not without painful memories. “I named my company JT’s Deli in honor of my son James Tyler, who became very passionate about becoming a vegan from an early age. Starting a plant-based business together was our dream, but his mental health issues cut that short. I’m keeping his dream and memory alive by making it easier for more people to take up a plant-based diet and healthier eating. So many times, people turn to so-called comfort foods with too much sugar and fat, which can lead to a roller coaster of highs and lows. I’m not saying eating a plant-based diet can cure mental illness, however, in my opinion it can result in one being physically and mentally healthier.”
The four Meijer Market Format stores are currently carrying her chicken (free) salad, egg (free) salad, and tuna (free) salad, however, when the time comes, she’s ready to expand with customer favorites, such as mac ‘n’ cheddar, made with roasted sweet potatoes and cashews—and of course, the product that started it all, her Gourmet Nutritional Yeast Seasoning.