Food Entrepreneur
George Stiffman is a “tofu evangelist” bringing rare Chinese tofu varieties into the American market. He currently runs Soycery, a food pop-up that’s evolved from farmers market BBQ tofu skewers into ready-to-eat cold tofu dishes. He’s now working to partner Soycery with university dining halls to give students more plant-based options.
An East Asian languages and cultures major, Stiffman credits USC Dornsife with shaping both his Mandarin fluency and entrepreneurial path. “Language proficiency and immersion in the international student community opened up so many doors in China,” he says. While studying abroad, he apprenticed under Luo Zhongda, a fifth-generation Chinese tofu master, and learned Fujianese cooking.
Those experiences became the foundation for his cookbook, Broken Cuisine, and a growing body of writing that legendary food journalist Mark Bittman called “the most interesting piece about tofu ever written.” He has cooked for major American and Chinese celebrities, delivered talks in Mandarin at international food and fitness summits, and lectured at the Culinary Institute of America and the China Vegan Summit.