Steam rose from a ladle as Elijah Choi (’25) poured rice cakes and dumplings immersed in savory broth into to-go cups. Next to him, Gina Park covered the soup with toppings before handing it to a student.
In Korea, Tteok-mandu-guk, or rice cake dumpling soup, is famous for ringing in the new year. Choi and Park decided to bring that spirit to Taylor with their food stand debut on Feb. 6 during lunchtime in the LaRita Boren Campus Center.
Park and Choi knew they wanted to do a project together for a while, but they found a new catalyst when visiting friends in Los Angeles over Christmas break. The couple envisioned the concept of showcasing foods and experiences that were shared within their diverse group of friends and acquaintances in “bite-sized forms” where participants could learn more about different cultures, foods and cuisines.
“We see it as an opportunity,” Choi said. “Not only to showcase other cultures, but also learn about other cultures as well—ones that we've never experienced or met anyone from—and just being able to dive deep and share that new information with other people.”
The food stand will feature a different country’s street food each month, beginning with Korean cuisine as an ode to Park and Choi’s own culture. Park said the stand will showcase foods from other Asian countries this semester before they move on to spinning a wheel and choosing a subsequent country randomly.
Food dishes will be sold with affordability in mind, at an average price of $5, Choi said. He emphasized the fact that their mission is more focused on showcasing cultures than making financial gains.
“We know there's a high demand for different foods, but we don't want to make it unobtainable for the Taylor students,” Choi said.
The food stand is an opportunity for people to expand their knowledge of different cultures and become more open to trying different foods and learning more about different people, Park said. This experience is perhaps the easiest portal to becoming more open to learning about another person who has a different background and opens the door to more meaningful forms of communication, Park said.
Choi and Park hold two distinct roles in the process of bringing food to the table. Park jumpstarts the process by researching what types of foods are popular in which countries. She also sends Instagram reels and YouTube shorts of recipes to Choi, who writes down the recipes and visits the Indianapolis International Market (Saraga International) to buy ingredients.
“I spend a week messing with the recipes and trying to test them out, see what works best, and tweak them a little bit so that we make them more accessible,” Choi said. “We test it with some of our friends or family, and then after that we bring it here.”
Park attributed this testing process to finding an accessible way to make food that encourages everyone to sample it while preserving authenticity.
Choi does most of the food prep from his home in Indianapolis before bringing the ingredients to campus to assemble and put the finishing touches on the dish to ensure freshness and optimal flavor.
Park and Choi find deep enjoyment in their contrasting roles. Choi serves as the head chef who measures prices and compares flavors. Park immerses herself in the marketing aspect by capturing photos and film of their work together and posting it on social media.
“She's still a student, and I'm working a job now, so it's kind of hard to coordinate perfectly,” Choi said. “But I think what's been really encouraging beyond those struggles is that people all over campus have been really supportive and encouraging about it—and just seeing that gives us the confidence to keep going.”
Choi and Park’s food stand will be set up 1-2 times per month on Fridays inside the LaRita Boren Campus Center outside the Office of Intercultural Programs during lunch hours, from approximately 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. They plan to move the food stand outside when the weather gets warmer. To learn more about the history of the foods they will feature or changes in their schedule, more information can be found on their Instagram account, @thetasteambassadors.
