On Shared Memories, Nostalgia And The Power Of Good Food: Gan Bei Gals
In light of our own rebirth, we’ve been catching up with Future Front Texas members and friends to explore vision.
Today, we’re chatting with our September studio mates, Gan Bei Gals. Gabby, Michelle and Jackie talk their favorite Asian snacks, dream collaborations and most memorable events.
As a Texas-based collective, they celebrate shared cultural experiences and Asian American nostalgia through food, stories and art. Last month, they took over our headquarters to highlight a few creatives and small business owners they’ve been working with this year.
If you missed the series, you can get to know them (and their work) below.
Photo courtesy of Gan Bei Gals.
ABOUT GAN BEI GALS
Gan Bei Gals is a celebration of shared cultural experiences and Asian American nostalgia told through food, stories and art. We are comprised of three women who grew up in the strong multicultural scene in Houston, Texas and are heavily influenced by our own explorations of dual Asian and American identity.
For us, food is how we connect not only with our culture, but also with friends, family and even strangers. We draw a lot of inspiration from our own nostalgia— foods we grew up eating and the memories, smells and feelings we remember. Our primary medium for celebrating this shared culture is events, but we also utilize art and design via digital and print graphics. (Keep a lookout for our upcoming zine!)
GET TO KNOW GAN BEI GALS:
1. What’s your day-to-day mantra?
Life is short and random—create fun when you can. Gan Bei!
2. Gan Bei Gals in 3 emojis?
Power puff girls (lol). JK. It’s 🍻🧧✨.
3. What is your vision for GBG?
As we grow and get busier, we’d like to scale in a way that doesn’t make us insanely busy in operations and management and leaves us free time to work on food and design. As for our events, we hope they only get more immersive and interactive!
4. Something you treasure?
Our shared childhood memories and our past food experiences that we are so grateful to have had. These inform much of who we are individually and many of our event ideas.
5. Something new you’re trying?
Both Gabby and Jackie are taking ceramics classes! Gabby is also taking a Vietnamese class to brush up, and Michelle is thinking about learning 3D illustration.
6. No. 1 muse?
Honestly our cats! They inspire us to enjoy life more and live in the moment.
7. Who’s your dream collaborator?
Ananas Ananas (@__ananasananas)! We set out to create interactive experiences and stories with our dinners and the experiential design of Ananas Ananas' dinners is the most immersive and thought-provoking that we've seen. Other dream collaborators whose food we go back for time and again include Nicolai of @penangshack, Abi of @theduskykitchen, and Fil n Viet (@fil_n_viet).
Photo by Jessica Joseph.
Photo by Jessica Joseph.
8. What was your childhood dream job?
We all had claimed something in healthcare or other socially acceptable job for Asian Americans, but our true dream jobs revolved around creativity and food. Between the three of us, our dream jobs included food taster/writer, chef and architect.
9. Currently snacking on…
Yuzu and black pepper shrimp chips which we had in our trailer and Cookie Wookie Kitchen's seasonal flavors.
10. You want the future of Texas to look like...
One in which BIPOC, women and queer folks have equitable rights and access to resources within a community and system that supports their growth, health and personal happiness.
11. How would you describe your creative and production process?
Our processes are extremely collaborative. We all work in creative jobs but in different fields, so we are fortunate to leverage each of our various skills and experience.
One of us might remember a fun childhood moment or get nostalgic for a certain dish, which ends up sparking an event idea. Gabby and Michelle will then work on the food component while Jackie and Michelle work on design collateral. Gabby also works on most of our PR, communications and marketing needs.
12. Go-to restaurants in Austin?
Suerte, Fil n Viet, Sazan Ramen, Koriente, Neighborhood Sushi
13. What does a day in your life consist of?
Since GBG is none of our full-time jobs, we spend the majority of our time at work. After-hours and on weekends, we explore our respective cities for new food spots and hang out at museums, bookstores and parks. Gabby and Michelle also spend quite a bit of time on recipe development and critique.
14. Proudest personal or career milestone?
This happened for all of us at different times, but our proudest career milestone is realizing that we are not tied to our parents' expectations or what we originally studied in school.
Photo by Jessica Joseph.
Photo by Jessica Joseph.
15. Favorite Asian cuisine?
So hard to pick! We all love food and aren't that picky taste-wise. For Gabby, it's probably Japanese cuisine for the simplicity, balance of flavors and quality of food preparation. For Michelle, it's Southeast Asian cuisines for the punchy mix of salty, sweet and spicy flavors. For Jackie, it's probably Vietnamese cuisine—its dietary restriction-friendly, fresh and healthy.
16. Least favorite Asian cuisine?
None! We love all of them.
17. Most memorable event you’ve produced so far?
Our inaugural Lunar New Year Hot Pot dinners at the top of 2020 just before the pandemic hit. We didn't know at the time that it would be our last live event with all three of us in Texas at the time (at least for a while), which probably makes this event even more sweet and memorable. We sold out the first dinner so fast that we opened ticket sales for a second date. Over the course of two hours, 18 people became closer friends over a spicy, steamy dinner.
18. What would you love to see more of from small businesses like yours?
More crossover collaborations with other small businesses!
19. How do you want people to feel when they attend a GBG Event?
Exultant, celebratory and curious. We want people to come as strangers, and over the course of eating or making something together, leave together as friends.
20. What are the best ways to get involved with GBG?
Get on our volunteer list! We definitely need some help for our remaining events this year, and are working on a long-term volunteer/intern program for the future.
21. What's coming up next for you?
A big, big zine launch party. Last winter, we reach out to our community and asked for family recipes and were able to select a handful of amazing recipes to feature. We've been working on the design and illustration on and off throughout 2021 and will be finishing that up soon. We'll have copies of the zine and a celebratory, Kamayan-style feast!
Want to stay involved with creators like GBG through Future Front Texas?
Keep up with what we’re up to—from virtual events to membership—here.