Catherine Page is not just the leading lady of the People’s Food Truck, Rising Sun Two, but she is also my new best friend. Our interview was so lovely that we finished with a hug before I had time to realise that probably wasn’t the most professional thing to do. But fuck professionalism. This is Critic, baby.
Despite being named as Critic’s best food truck on campus (2019), she actually hates cooking. “I never cook at home, I hate it,” she said, “if I cook, it’s spaghetti at home. But I love doing this. I think it’s interacting with the people that I really love.”
When asked how many dumplings she makes every week, she said, “shit, I’d hate to think. Easily hundreds; thousands.” So many that she had to invest in a dumpling machine that runs about three or four times a week. “That would be like 60 odd kilos of meat, and that’s not including all of the vegetables we add.”
With so many dumplings you’d think that she’d be making absolute bank. Catherine says that as long as she has “enough to pay the bills,” that’s good enough for her. “It’s not about the money to me. We keep our prices down. It’s not just about students, it’s also for families. I’ve got kids as well. If a family comes to my truck [for context, she also runs charity food truck nights in Mosgiel] I want it so that they can afford to buy something for the whole family.”
Her dumpling journey began over a year ago with the handing over of her dad’s second food truck (hence, the ‘Two’), but soon went from a spot on Albany Street to the Union Lawn, at the specific request of one of the University Union’s managers.
But she must be making enough, as she’s recently bought a new food truck with plans to return the old one to her dad. She’s currently in the process of naming it, and is accepting name suggestions on (her incredibly wholesome) Facebook page. Suggestions so far include Yumpling, the Dump Truck and Sunshine Dumplings. Personally, I don’t have a favourite, I just need her to never ever leave xoxo