Lessons in dumplings 

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Walking into Sans Dumplings in Penn Yan feels like you’ve wandered into a lab. The place is immaculate, and the surfaces gleam. But here in the heart of Finger Lakes wine country, a culinary revolution is quietly taking root. 

At the helm is Imelda Reinhardt, a former scientist whose deft hands now manipulate dumplings rather than molecules.
Sans burst onto the scene in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic.

Perched on the drive up to Kemmeter Winery, where her husband is the owner and winemaker, this modest operation suddenly found itself “essential” when the winery, tasting room, and surrounding restaurants shuttered. The locals, left craving connection and chafing from forced solitude, began to flood Reinhardt’s phone with orders.

She works alongside five young Mennonite women who bike from home to join the ranks. Laced with laughter and moving with impressive  finesse, they crank out 3,000 dumplings each week to feed demand. Watching the process feels simultaneously like a step back in time and a leap forward. Reinhardt mentors these women, not just as employees or neighbors, but as co-creators. There’s a sense of camaraderie that transcends the work of a kitchen. It’s a delicate dance of past and present, resurrecting old-school community values carved into the systems of a modern world.

Coming from a scientific background (she holds a degree in Food Science & Technology from Cornell University), Reinhardt’s instinct was to control every aspect of her environment. And while this skillset is a leg up when fine-tuning the induction stove and understanding flavor extraction, with humans, the formulas didn’t compute.

Instead of hibernating in a lab with her instruments, Reinhardt faced the  challenge of leading a team. Recognizing that they didn’t see the world through her analytical lens, she began to embrace their strengths and find joy in the collective effort. And it’s this — her shocking self-awareness, that makes her both a formidable leader and an approachable mentor.

“The people around you,” she said, “you have to learn how to bless one another.”

Since graduating from Cornell, Reinhardt has called Geneva home. She talks with candid enthusiasm about how much the area is changing — it no longer feels like a small town stuck in a generational gap, void of productive years. Post-pandemic things started to shift. Young people are moving to the area and the existing community shows up for each other in remarkable ways.

Reinhardt doesn't succumb to the typical hospitality trap of overextension; there aren’t 25 items on her menu. Veiled in genuine humility, there is real boldness in executing these few items with expertise and care. Reinhardt demands quality, knows where her strengths lie, and understands the value of restraint.
In a world that often feels fragmented, Reinhardt has created Sans Dumplings, a haven of connection and culinary excellence. This is a place where science meets soul. A place where every bite is not just chemically perfect, but a lesson in the power of community. sansdumplings.com

Abby Quatro is a freelance contributor to CITY.