Hensall Foods turning locally grown beans into fresh ready meals
Amir Naveed proudly watched as the production line at Hensall Foods pump out fresh ready meals with beans and grains, grown within a few kilometres of his Exeter, Ont. facility.
“We have seven or eight of our recipes with beans and lentils, which were grown right here in Huron and surrounding area,” explained Hensall Foods General Manager Amir Naveed.
For several decades, the Hensall Co-op, with 6,000 farmer member owners, has been shipping southwestern Ontario grown beans and grains to food production facilities around the world.
But, two-and-a-half years ago, they thought they’d better start making their own products, so they launched Hensall Foods and their brand of Screaming Chef ready-to-eat meals.
“The big reason behind Screaming Chef and Hensall Food Inc. is adding value for our members. Essentially providing other ways for their products to be used, specifically kept within Huron County, and not necessarily shipped elsewhere,” explained Rebecca Hubbard, marketing and communications manager for the Hensall Co-op.
Screaming Chef meals, using Huron County grown beans and lentils, are produced at Hensall Foods in Exeter, Ont. on April 15, 2024. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)
The meals that “scream” when they’re ready to eat after being heated up have been a hit.
Their 20 varieties of reheatable, but not frozen, meals are already in Walmart locations Canada wide, with hopes of hitting the shelves of Costco later this year.
Naveed said they can produce 10,000 Screaming Chef meals a day at their Exeter production line that currently has eight employees.
“We’ve designed some special recipes for hospitals and long-term care homes, so we are now shipping directly to those customers as well. There is a lot of potential,” said Naveed.
Screaming Chef meals, using Huron County grown beans and lentils, are produced at Hensall Foods in Exeter, Ont. on April 15, 2024. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)
While the vacuum sealed, fresh ready meals — which are good for 90 days in your fridge — are flying off the shelves, it’s shipping beans 10 minutes down the road from Hensall to Exeter, and not around the world, that’s created the most excitement at the co-op.
That local food focus is expanding into Screaming Chef meals featuring beef, with a Parkhill beef producer soon joining forces with Hensall Foods.
“That special supplier is using beef from a Hensall Co-op member, so it’s full vertical integration within our recipe. We’re using as much local as possible. Pasta from Toronto. Sauces from St. Marys, and the beans from Huron County and area. It’s exciting,” said Naveed.
You can learn more about Hensall Foods’ ‘Screaming Chef’ line of locally produced meals on their website.
Screaming Chef meals, using Huron County grown beans and lentils, are produced at Hensall Foods in Exeter, Ont. on April 15, 2024. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Family of toddler found dead at small-town Ont. daycare no closer to answers after year of investigation
A year has passed since two-year-old Vienna Irwin was found on the property of a home-based daycare in small-town Ontario, but her family says they are no closer to answers of what happened that day.
Here's what every key witness said at Donald Trump's hush money trial. Closing arguments are coming
After 22 witnesses, including a porn actor, tabloid publisher and White House insiders, testimony is over at Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York.
More seniors are using homeless shelters. Here's why, according to experts
One of the country’s homeless shelters has seen an uptick in the number of people through its doors, including more older adults over 50.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Norway hands over papers for diplomatic recognition to the Palestinian prime minister
Norway on Sunday handed over diplomatic papers to the Palestinian prime minister in the latest step toward recognizing a Palestinian state, a largely symbolic move that has infuriated Israel.
Man or machine? Toronto company finds a way to determine how real audio clips are
The Toronto-based research arm of life sciences technology firm Klick Health has found a way to analyze voices in a manner that’s so granular, it can tell whether it's a person or an artificial intelligence-powered machine.
J.H. Tabaret statue at uOttawa vandalized
The statue of J.H. Tabaret at the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) has been vandalized, as a picture taken by CTV News shows red paint sprayed all over it.