{"id":2165380,"date":"2025-11-18T23:24:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T23:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2165380"},"modified":"2025-11-18T23:24:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T23:24:23","slug":"five-native-american-chefs-you-should-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/five-native-american-chefs-you-should-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Native American Chefs You Should Know"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<div class=\"pull-none item-image\">  <\/div>\n<dl class=\"article-info muted\">\n<dt class=\"article-info-term\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDetails\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/dt>\n<dd class=\"createdby\" itemprop=\"author\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Person\">\n\t\t\t\t\tBy <span itemprop=\"name\">Elyse Wild<\/span>\t<\/dd>\n<dd class=\"create\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-calendar\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<time datetime=\"2025-11-18T13:54:36-05:00\" itemprop=\"dateCreated\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNovember 18, 2025\t\t\t\t\t<\/time>\n\t\t\t<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<p>\u00a0<em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">This Native American Heritage Month, Native News Online is celebrating by sharing our favorite Native American actor movies, TV shows, books, chefs, musicians, artists, and fashion designers.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The traditional practices and values of tribes across Indian Country are as varied as they are numbered, but there is one thing they all have in common: food is a centerpiece of culture.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">As the food sovereignty movement swells in Indian Country, Native American chefs are bringing traditional and contemporary Indigenous foods to home kitchens and acclaimed restaurants across the U.S.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom nno-mc-in-article\">\n<div class=\"in-article-signupbox\">\n<p><strong>Never miss Indian Country\u2019s biggest stories and breaking news.<\/strong>\u00a0Sign up to get our reporting sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!--End mc_embed_signup--><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">From James Beard Award winners to &#8220;Chopped&#8221; frontrunners, these Native American chefs are elevating Indigenous foodways in their communities and on the national stage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Here are five Native American chefs you should know.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Crystal Wahpepah (Kickapoo Nation of Oklahoma) <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Kickapoo Nation Chef Crystal Wahpepah burst onto the food scene in 2016 when she became the first Indigenous contestant on the Food Network&#8217;s wildly popular food competition show &#8220;Chopped.&#8221; Born and raised in Oakland, California, on Ohlone land, Wahpepah&#8217;s love of food began as a child, <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">making<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> meals with her grandmother and aunties.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Today, she brings that same sense of community to her restaurant, Wahpepah&#8217;s Kitchen. With a menu bursting with ingredients sourced from Indigenous farmers \u2014 wild rice, hibiscus, blue corn, mushrooms, and more \u2014 the restaurant serves dishes that blend land acknowledgement with food sovereignty.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;I feel this is the human right for everybody to have their own cultural foods and to eat it and to have that relationship with it on their homeland \u2026 or even not on their homeland,&#8221; Wahpepah told KQED in 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Stephanie &#8220;Pyet&#8221; DeSpain (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Chef Stephanie &#8220;Pyet&#8221; DeSpain honors her cultural heritage, Native American and Mexican, through food. DeSpain grew up between the Osage Indian Reservation and Kansas City, where she spent her childhood in her family&#8217;s taquerias.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In 2015, she launched a culinary business to promote whole foods made with Indigenous flavors. A year later, she drew national acclaim as the first winner of Gordon Ramsay&#8217;s Next Level Chef. Her cookbook, Rooted in Fire, tells the stories behind Native ingredients with contemporary recipes that celebrate her cultural roots shared by many across Indian Country.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Freddie J. Bitsoie (Din\u00e9) <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">For Chef Freddie J. Bitsoie (Din\u00e9), the <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">notion of<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> Native American cuisine is a misnomer.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> Instead, the award-winning chef emphasizes looking at Native foods through regionally unique ingredients and techniques.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;We must start looking at it from a more regional aspect&#8230; When discussing Indigenous foods, the foods that shape a specific region are hyper-local,&#8221; the award-winning chef said during a visit to Penn State in 2023. &#8220;The best way I have found to tell our history is through the culinary arts because that&#8217;s what I&#8217;m working to rediscover.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">From 2016 to 2020, Bitsoie was the executive chef at the Mitsitam Native Foods Caf\u00e9 at the National Museum of the American Indian. His 2022 cookbook, the New Native Kitchen: Celebrating Modern Recipes of the American Indian, features 100 recipes that use modern techniques and sensibilities to enrich traditional Native recipes from regions across Indian Country.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Sean Sherman (Oglala Lakota Sioux) <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Known by the moniker &#8220;The Sioux Chef,&#8221; James Beard award winner Sean Sherman may be the most celebrated Native American chef of our time. Sherman grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation and later cooked at restaurants in South Dakota during the early days of the farm-to-table movement. After a revelation that there were no Native American restaurants in the United States, he began his life&#8217;s mission to reawaken Native American cooking techniques using Indigenous ingredients \u2014 all while addressing the extreme health disparities caused by colonial diets forced on Native peoples.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In 2021, Sherman opened Owamni, a full-service restaurant <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">serving only pre-colonial ingredients in downtown Minneapolis<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. Along with netting a coveted James Beard award for his first cookbook, Sherman has been honored with <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Julia<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> Child Award and was named one of Time Magazine&#8217;s 100 Most Influential People of 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Chef Bryce Stevenson (Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa) <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">From 2023-2024, James <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Beard nominee<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> Chef Bryce Stevenson&#8217;s restaurant Miijim centered traditional Ojibwe foods with a dash of French technique.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> The menu featured venison and rabbit, freshwater fish, and wild foods like manoomin, sumac, cedar spruce tips, and maple.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">While Stevenson temporarily closed the Madeline Island eatery due to infrastructure challenges, he is on the hunt for a new location to reopen <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">its doors<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. In the meantime, Stevenson heads up the kitchen at Wisconsin&#8217;s critically acclaimed small plate restaurant Odd Duck. He continues to bring Ojibwe cuisine to Milwaukee&#8217;s food scene with <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">highly-anticipated<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> fusion pop-ups, most recently an Ojibwe-Korean collaboration dinner with Korean chef Jenny Lee.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!-- Author Info Box Plugin for Joomla! - Kubik-Rubik Joomla! Extensions - Viktor Vogel --><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"clear:both\">More Stories Like This<\/h4>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nativenewsonline.net\/arts-entertainment\/five-native-american-chefs-you-should-know\/new-book-showcases-250-images-by-indigenous-photographers-spanning-two-centuries\">New Book Showcases 250 Images by Indigenous Photographers Spanning Two Centuries<\/a><br \/><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nativenewsonline.net\/arts-entertainment\/five-native-american-chefs-you-should-know\/short-film-documents-first-full-kayak-run-of-the-klamath-after-dam-removals\">Short Film Documents First Full Kayak Run of the Klamath After Dam Removals<\/a><br \/><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nativenewsonline.net\/arts-entertainment\/five-native-american-chefs-you-should-know\/joy-harjo-honored-with-portrait-of-a-nation-award-at-smithsonian-gala\">Joy Harjo Honored With Portrait of a Nation Award at Smithsonian Gala<\/a><br \/><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nativenewsonline.net\/arts-entertainment\/five-native-american-chefs-you-should-know\/creative-continuities-family-pride-and-community-in-native-art-opens-today-at-the-autry-museum-in-la\">Creative Continuities: Family, Pride, and Community in Native Art Opens Today at the Autry Museum in LA<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"customdonate_article\">\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"background-color: #ffff99;\"><strong>Help us tell the stories that could save Native languages and food traditions<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>At a critical moment for Indian Country, Native News Online is embarking on our most ambitious reporting project yet: &#8220;Cultivating Culture,&#8221; a three-year investigation into two forces shaping Native community survival\u2014food sovereignty and language revitalization.<\/p>\n<p>The devastating impact of COVID-19 accelerated the loss of Native elders and with them, irreplaceable cultural knowledge. Yet across tribal communities, innovative leaders are fighting back, reclaiming traditional food systems and breathing new life into Native languages. These aren&#8217;t just cultural preservation efforts\u2014they&#8217;re powerful pathways to community health, healing, and resilience.<\/p>\n<p>Our dedicated reporting team will spend three years documenting these stories through on-the-ground reporting in 18 tribal communities, producing over 200 in-depth stories, 18 podcast episodes, and multimedia content that amplifies Indigenous voices. We&#8217;ll show policymakers, funders, and allies how cultural restoration directly impacts physical and mental wellness while celebrating successful models of sovereignty and self-determination.<\/p>\n<p>This isn&#8217;t corporate media parachuting into Indian Country for a quick story. This is sustained, relationship-based journalism by Native reporters who understand these communities. It&#8217;s &#8220;Warrior Journalism&#8221;\u2014fearless reporting that serves the 5.5 million readers who depend on us for news that mainstream media often ignores.<\/p>\n<p><strong>We need your help right now.<\/strong> While we&#8217;ve secured partial funding, we&#8217;re still $450,000 short of our three-year budget. Our immediate goal is $25,000 this month to keep this critical work moving forward\u2014funding reporter salaries, travel to remote communities, photography, and the deep reporting these stories deserve.<\/p>\n<p>Every dollar directly supports Indigenous journalists telling Indigenous stories. Whether it&#8217;s $5 or $50, your contribution ensures these vital narratives of resilience, innovation, and hope don&#8217;t disappear into silence.<\/p>\n<p><strong><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nativenewsonline.net\/images\/2022\/Levi-headshot.jpg\" alt=\"Levi headshot\" width=\"127\" height=\"127\" style=\"margin-right: 15px; float: left;\"\/><\/strong><em\/>The stakes couldn&#8217;t be higher. Native languages are being lost at an alarming rate. Food insecurity plagues many tribal communities. But solutions are emerging, and these stories need to be told.<\/p>\n<p><em>Support independent Native journalism. Fund the stories that matter.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Levi Rickert (Potawatomi), Editor &amp; Publisher<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/giving\/campaigns?campaign_id=REMMBSEZXP7QN\" width=\"382\" height=\"550\" title=\"PayPal donate campaign card\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"author_infobox\">\n<p>About The Author<\/p>\n<div class=\"author_infobox_image_profile\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nativenewsonline.net\/images\/Headshots\/Elyse_Wild.jpeg\" alt=\"Elyse Wild\"\/><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"bold\">Author:<\/span> Elyse Wild<span class=\"bold marginleft\">Email:<\/span> <span id=\"cloakb01eaf36a5fec66cabdf320a7061dce7\">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Senior Health Editor<\/p>\n<p>Elyse Wild is Senior Health Editor for Native News Online, where she leads coverage of health equity issues including mental health, environmental health, maternal mortality, and the overdose crisis in Indian Country. Her award-winning journalism has appeared in The Guardian, McClatchy newspapers, and NPR affiliates. In 2024, she received the inaugural Excellence in Recovery Journalism Award for her solutions-focused reporting on addiction and recovery in Native communities. She is currently working on a Pulitzer Center-funded series exploring cultural approaches to addiction treatment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br class=\"clear\"\/>    <\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\nn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;\nn.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\nt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,\ndocument,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\nfbq('init', '6281125331913536', {}, {agent: 'pljoomla'});\nfbq('track', 'PageView');\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source nativenewsonline.net \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Details By Elyse Wild November 18, 2025 \u00a0This Native American Heritage Month, Native News Online is celebrating by sharing our favorite Native American actor movies, TV shows, books, chefs, musicians, artists, and fashion designers. \u00a0 The traditional practices and values of tribes across Indian Country are as varied as they are numbered, but there is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2165381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2165380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Five-Native-American-Chefs-You-Should-Know.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2165380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2165380"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2165380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2165382,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2165380\/revisions\/2165382"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2165381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2165380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2165380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2165380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}