The Ugly Dumpling is a dumpling food truck from McLeans Ridges, in the hills between Lismore and Ballina. The story starts in Footscray in Melbourne's inner west, where dumplings were the family habit — Chinese, Japanese, Nepalese, all of it. A lap of Australia ended in the Northern Rivers, and after two years without a decent dumpling there was nothing for it but to roll them at the kitchen bench. That was four years ago; the packs now sit in more than twenty stores across the region. Everything is handmade. The dough is organic stoneground flour, the fillings are free-range meats and locally grown vegetables, and there are no additives or preservatives. Three dumplings anchor the menu: free-range pork with spring onion and ginger, lemongrass beef brisket with coriander, garlic and a hint of chilli, and a vegan dumpling of mushroom, cabbage, celery, carrot, spring onion and ginger. They are big, generous dumplings made to ooze and made to share — no one-bite wonders. For weddings and private events the truck comes to you, and the menu is built around your people — more than dumplings if you want it, with vegan, gluten-free, lactose-intolerant and cultural requirements all catered for. They take functions from 50 to 500 guests, and around the Northern Rivers the van is a familiar sight at markets and festivals from Lismore to Ballina, Casino and Nimbin, travelling as far as Armidale and over the Queensland border for the right event.