Our Story
Sarah & Nate
Williams-Scalise
Sarah was born in the seaside province of Jeollabuk-do, South Korea. 5 months later, she traveled halfway around the world with her foster mom to a new family, and a new home – Upstate New York. Starting at a young age, her parents enrolled her into two nearby Korean culture camps each summer. The camps taught Taekwondo, how to write in Korean, fan dancing, and ddakji. But the best part, for Sarah anyways, was the mandu – filling, crimping, and most importantly, eating.
Nate grew up outside of Pittsburgh in an Italian-Polish family and can remember gathering at a table with his family to eat pierogies (Polish dumpling). In the fall of 2021, Nate left his full-time job as a business banker to prepare for baby dump’s arrival and lead the business. He is the primary maker in the commissary kitchen, delivery man to local retailers, and cook during pop-ups.
There has always been something so special about dumplings. Each culture has their own iteration of a dumpling, but often by a different name, shape, and flavor. By sharing mandu with the community, Sarah and Nate are giving folks a taste of Korea, in many instances, for the first time. They hope that their story reminds folks of the beauty of adoption and cultural similarities, and just like their personalities, always with a dash of humor.
By sharing mandu with the community, Sarah & Nate are giving folks a taste of Korea, in many instances, for the first time. They hope that the story rolls the beauty of adoption, cultural similarities, & deliciousness into one lil’ dump that’s cute AF.