Shawn Cao and Riley Dunaway

Hometown: Baton Rouge

Ages: 26

Artistry: Handmade onigiri and Asian-inspired street food; co-owners, Oni

Online: @oni_225 on Instagram

For an event boasting a thunderstorm of a drum line, hypnotic dancing dragons and artist tents as far as the eye could see, catching a surprising amount of attention were the small, triangular-shaped rice balls hundreds of patrons were seen carrying through the crush of the crowd. A brand-new food vendor called Oni arrived at the feverishly popular Night Market held in Galvez Plaza last February and sold all 750 of its handheld creations, a popular Japanese street food known as onigiri. Some were filled with tangy caramelized beef, others homemade kimchi and the traditional tuna mayo.

Packing up, the first-time pop-up’s owners and sole operators, Shawn Cao and Riley Dunaway, should have been absolutely exhausted.

“It was exhilarating,” Dunaway counters. “It went from this happy accident opportunity from a friend to long nights staying up getting ready for it, to having great feedback, making a good profit and realizing we could actually do this all because people were loving it.”

While basing its menu on a traditional Japanese snack that had never been served at a Baton Rouge festival before was taking a big swing, Cao and Dunaway have balanced the risk of novelty with an overall approach steeped in simplicity, focus and intentional collaboration.

They keep their rotating menu small and fresh, focus on quality, and lean into their years of communicating across a kitchen with near-telepathic precision.

“Riley’s always been who I go to for food inspiration, so he was my first call when the Night Market offer came up,” Cao says. “Creatively but also in work ethic, we just flow. I know what to do, and he knows without communicating. We get each other so well.”

The pair of Baton Rouge High alums were cooks for Chow Yum, and they worked small catering gigs together before Oni took off. Both grew up learning everything they could in their family kitchens, while studying shows like Chopped, Good Eats and Iron Chef and following the adventures of Anthony Bourdain. But for Cao, Oni has an even deeper legacy. His mother, an avid home cook, passed away when he was 13.

“I learned so much from her, in the kitchen and in life, so I’m just doing this for her,” Cao says. “She’s my inspiration to chase my passion.”

That passion is catching on. Oni’s Instagram followers have swelled, and the duo is a staple at Electric Depot, Cypress Coast Brewing, Pelican to Mars, Tap 65 and other popular nightspots.

“It takes a lot of energy to get out as much as we are, but we’re just so grateful to keep going,” Dunaway says. “We just love cooking, man.”

One thing they won’t be pursuing soon is a brick-and-mortar location. They want to stay mobile while stretching their foodie palate in fresh directions.

“Once you get that opportunity to be creative,” Cao says, “you don’t want to stop.”