Member Profile
Vaughn and Wahid
Tenchef
Tenchef connects home chefs with Islanders looking to experience new flavours and recipes.
It’s no secret that PEI is an Island of food lovers! With a rich history of farming and fishing, enjoying good food is just in our blood. And now, thanks to new business Tenchef, Islanders are able to try authentic and unique foods from around the world, without even having to leave their homes.
Tenchef connects home chefs with Islanders looking to experience new flavours and recipes. It provides a state-of-the-art kitchen to various chefs and uses an online platform, and delivery service to share the creations with Islanders. It was founded in Charlottetown by Vaughn Murphy and Wahid Choudhury. When Wahid moved to the Island from Bangladesh, he became involved in the startup community right away, and fellow entrepreneur Vaughn immediately gravitated towards him. The two would often meet up to discuss business ideas over food. Wahid talked about his wife’s cooking, and how all their neighbours commented on how good her food smelled, but never had an opportunity to taste it. That’s when the idea of Tenchef came about!
Starting a new business, the first of its kind on the Island, was no easy feat. Not to mention launching a startup in the middle of a pandemic! But Vaughn and Wahid saw the opportunity to bring new flavours to market, while offering chefs a safer way to test out recipes and see what it’s like to run a kitchen and a business, without the large upfront costs and uncertainty involved in starting a restaurant. It took almost eight months to find a local facility that would allow them to sell products commercially, but Tenchef successfully set up a kitchen at Bio Food Tech and have been operating out of it ever since.
Tenchef has allowed Vaughn and Wahid to not only experience the incredible culinary talent we have on the Island, but also connect members of the community in ways they didn’t expect. One of their chefs from Bangladesh, is using the platform to help save for her medical needs. Another is a newcomer from Syria who ran a high-end Baklava shop before having to flee warzones and move his family to Canada. For Vaughn and Wahid, it’s exciting to see they can help people in the community and support them in doing something they love. Getting to try lots of tasty food is just an added perk!
Like most start-ups and small businesses on PEI, Tenchef relied on members of the community to help get the business off its feet. They received support from organizations like Startup Zone, Innovation PEI, CBC, and many other players in the start-up community. They are moved by the tremendous support they’ve received from their customers and individuals in the community. “People have been posting personal notes for chefs on the website and social media accounts,” says Vaughn. “That’s nice to see, and very meaningful for the chefs.”
Check out Tenchef’s Instagram to get a look at some of their impressive dishes, but fair warning, it may make you hungry!
“We’ve seen support from our community in different ways. From our customers supporting our chefs to the business community who helped us network and build up our company from the ground.”
Starting a new business, the first of its kind on the Island, was no easy feat. Not to mention launching a startup in the middle of a pandemic! But Vaughn and Wahid saw the opportunity to bring new flavours to market, while offering chefs a safer way to test out recipes and see what it’s like to run a kitchen and a business, without the large upfront costs and uncertainty involved in starting a restaurant. It took almost eight months to find a local facility that would allow them to sell products commercially, but Tenchef successfully set up a kitchen at Bio Food Tech and have been operating out of it ever since.
Tenchef has allowed Vaughn and Wahid to not only experience the incredible culinary talent we have on the Island, but also connect members of the community in ways they didn’t expect. One of their chefs from Bangladesh, is using the platform to help save for her medical needs. Another is a newcomer from Syria who ran a high-end Baklava shop before having to flee warzones and move his family to Canada. For Vaughn and Wahid, it’s exciting to see they can help people in the community and support them in doing something they love. Getting to try lots of tasty food is just an added perk!
Like most start-ups and small businesses on PEI, Tenchef relied on members of the community to help get the business off its feet. They received support from organizations like Startup Zone, Innovation PEI, CBC, and many other players in the start-up community. They are moved by the tremendous support they’ve received from their customers and individuals in the community. “People have been posting personal notes for chefs on the website and social media accounts,” says Vaughn. “That’s nice to see, and very meaningful for the chefs.”
Check out Tenchef’s Instagram to get a look at some of their impressive dishes, but fair warning, it may make you hungry!
