For a while now, I’ve wondered about the names on the screens in Stav. Drawing from the menu of March 3, 2026, we have Szechuan Chicken, Adobo Roasted Chicken, Wok Charred Napa Cabbage, and Herbed Brown Rice Pilaf. These dishes evoke the flavors of China, Mexico, and the Mediterranean region. However, in practice, their vegetables, proteins, and complex spices are often substituted or omitted. This article seeks to understand the relationship students have both with the food options on campus and with the naming conventions of Stav Hall and our other dining centers.
On Thursday, April 30, I had the opportunity to sit down for an interview with the founding members of the Japanese Student Circle, a recently reimagined club for the Japanese student community at St. Olaf. In an interview with The Olaf Messenger, Isaac Bryan ’29 and So Sugimoto ’29 shared their insights into multicultural dining and Japanese representation in our campus dining experience. Going into the interview, I was most curious about the difference between the name of a food in Stav and the actual flavors on the plate. I assumed that the difference would be huge and that the attitude to that difference would be negative — but Bryan and Sugimoto provided a unique perspective.
“In terms of taste, Stav does do a good job. Obviously, it’s not as good as something in Japan, but it does a good job of representing what they’re trying to represent,” Bryan said.
“As is similar to a lot of East Asian dishes, not every dish has the exact same way of cooking, and different households or regions will use veggies differently,” Sugimoto said. “So, there is not one single, correct way to make a dish like yakisoba, for example.” His response reflects the plurality of flavor present in Japan and the United States. Adaptation might be a better word for Stav’s Japanese noodles rather than appropriation.
The Olaf Messenger reached out to Bon Appétit staff for a formal interview but did not receive a response. Rick Parris, Bon Appétit’s board manager at St. Olaf, said in a separate conversation that dish names are “passed down from corporate,” and that campus staff are not responsible for them.
Sugimoto and Bryan both noted that for many other Asian dishes in Stav Hall, the words “inspired” or “fusion” are used to describe meals — however, this is rarely the case for Japanese dishes. Bryan said, “It’s nice that [by] including Japanese words, it gets across what is said; ‘udon noodles’ puts understanding and credit into the same phrase. But sometimes there is ‘Indian-inspired’ and then the dish name, but for East Asian and Japanese dishes, they just use the name.”
Bryan and Sugimoto believe that separating the dish just slightly from its culture of origin allows for more creative liberties to be consciously taken. Saying where things are inspired from gives credit where credit is due. Bryan said that the worst possible outcome, in his opinion, would be if someone read on the menu that the dish they were about to eat was Japanese, and then they have it and think to themselves, “Wow, this is bad.”
On the topic of other food on campus, Bryan and Sugimoto both laughed when I asked about the sushi option, which was moved this year to the Buntrock Crossroads. The Bon Appétit name of this station is just “Sushi,” while many students refer to it as the “sushi burrito” line.
“I like that people call it sushi burrito, and not sushi, because it specifies that it’s not actually sushi. I can eat white rice and seaweed, and that is good. It kinda reminds me of Japan — the flavors of ginger, soy sauce, and cold rice,” Sugimoto said.
Bryan added, “It’s fusion food — and that’s not a bad thing.” The style of tray and paper wrapping that the sushi burrito is wrapped in is reminiscent of street food and reflects the interesting fusion cuisine present everywhere on campus, from the Med-Bowl Express to Stav Hall.
With this project in food fusion though, the fine line between representation and appropriation appears yet again. A dish of note when considering this issue is the potstickers that sometimes make an appearance in Stav.
“We don’t even know if [they are] Chinese or Japanese,” Sugimoto said. The potstickers are closer to a fusion of Japanese gyoza and Chinese jiaozi than they are traditional gyoza.
“As a fusion dish, again, it works. [S]o then maybe just totally call them the American name of ‘potstickers,’ [which] lets people of both cultures know maybe what they’re getting, and know that it’s American,” Bryan said.
“For International Week there were a few African dishes in Stav, and the titles were like, ‘East African inspired,’ and then the dish name. That was super cool. I wish we could eat more cuisines like that more often. If anything, I also feel bad for other international students who are much less represented,” Bryan said.
Culminating from the many choices made in Stav Hall throughout its history, the current representation is good. Hopefully, with time and collaboration, it will only get better.
