All Of It with Alison Stewart

Episode: New Cookbook Celebrates the Interconnectedness of Native American & Mexican Food Culture
Date: November 25, 2025
Guest: Chef Piet Despain, author of "Rooted in Fire: A Celebration of Native American and Mexican Cooking"

Episode Overview

In this episode, host Alison Stewart interviews acclaimed chef Piet Despain, the first winner of Gordon Ramsay’s “Next Level Chef” competition and author of the new cookbook, Rooted in Fire. The conversation delves into Despain’s Indigenous and Mexican culinary heritage, exploring the careful blending of food, family history, cultural preservation, and modern adaptations. Together, they discuss the importance of honoring tribal specificity, reconnecting with roots through food, and the ethical complexities surrounding tradition and adaptation in Native cuisine.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Reconnecting through Food (01:21–02:33)

• Writing as a Journey:
  Despain describes the process of writing her cookbook as an opportunity to ask family members about their stories and reconnect with her roots.

  “When I had the opportunity to write a book, I really wanted to focus on that story of reconnecting... and a lot of the reconnecting happened through food.” — Piet Despain (01:27)

• Invitation to Readers:
  She hopes her recipes inspire others to embark on their own cultural explorations.

2. Family & Culinary Influence (02:36–03:04)

• Family as Inspiration:
  Her cooking style draws heavily from her paternal side, particularly her grandmother who owned a restaurant, her father’s curiosity with spices, and her uncles.

  “My grandmother owned a restaurant at one point in Kansas City, and so did two of my uncles.” — Piet Despain (02:48)

3. Heritage and the "Fire Keeper" Tradition (03:07–05:18)

• Potawatomi Identity:
  “Rooted in Fire” refers to her tribal background as a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, known as “the fire keepers.”

  “Ours was to keep the fire, which is our traditions, alive.” — Piet Despain (03:34)

  The concept of fire manifests in ceremony, personal drive, language, and the fuel behind her culinary practice.

• Language Preservation:
  The cookbook features Potawatomi language throughout and QR codes linking to pronunciation guides, aiming to encourage younger generations to learn and preserve the language.

4. Diversity of Indigenous Cuisine (06:18–08:09)

• Tribal Diversity and Regionality:
  Despain highlights that there’s no single “Native American cuisine.” The diversity across 570+ tribes means tremendous variation in ingredients and techniques, shaped by geography and accessibility.

  “When we think about Native American cuisine, it’s not just a one size fits all... because our communities are so different.” — Piet Despain (07:10)

• Spirit Plate:
  She briefly mentions her PBS show, Spirit Plate, where tribal diversity is explored through food.

5. Importance of Seasonal Eating (08:09–09:50)

• Mindful Connection to Land:
  The cookbook’s seasonal menus and guides emphasize environmental respect, supporting local growers, and maximizing nutrition.

  “Eating in season just means that you’re going to get the most nutrition from those particular foods when they are at their best... you’re not only having respect for the land... you’re also building relationship with food.” — Piet Despain (08:48)

6. Recipe Deep Dives

• Three Sister Salad (10:00–11:39):
  Corn, beans, and squash—this ancient agricultural triad is both nutritionally complementary and symbolic.

  “When you’re putting these three things together, they become the perfect protein.” — Piet Despain (10:46)

  The salad is kept simple to honor original flavors, with onion and thyme as modern touches.

• Wahape (Berry Compote) & Barbecue Sauce (12:37–15:16):

  • Wahape is a berry compote originating from the Lakota, traditionally made with chokecherries but adaptable with modern berries and maple syrup.

    “You’re just doing like, you know, cooking it down and sweeten it up with maple... you can apply this to so many different things now... smoothies, yogurt, oats, ice cream, desserts.” — Piet Despain (13:43)

  • The Wahape barbecue sauce version, featuring apple cider vinegar and classic barbecue spices, helped Despain win a challenge on Next Level Chef.

• Fry Bread: Complexity and Controversy (15:16–17:05):

  • Despain addresses fry bread as a symbol of colonization and survival, not a pre-colonial tradition.

    “Its ingredients represent our colonization. ...We’re trying to break the cycles now of allowing our own people to understand that there’s more to our food than fry bread.” — Piet Despain (15:46)

  • Fry bread is to be eaten in moderation, and education about its background is essential for both Native and non-Native audiences.

• Mexican-Inspired Dessert: Blue Corn Strawberry Tamales with Coconut Horchata Sauce (17:15–18:38):

  • Despain shares a sweet recipe combining blue corn, maple, strawberries, and a coconut horchata sauce—a holiday favorite and a nod to her Mexican lineage.

    “People wouldn’t think to put blue corn and maple together, but regionally, they belong together because they’re from the Americas.” — Piet Despain (17:51)

7. Intersections with Black American Foodways (18:38–20:14)

• Acknowledging Cultural Crossroads:
  The migration of Black communities and their culinary traditions through cities like Kansas City shaped Despain’s exposure to “soul food” and deeper cultural intersections.

  “Just because America in itself is a melting pot of a lot of different cultures... it’s really important to honor that and understand that history.” — Piet Despain (19:10)

• Parallels in Loss and Reconnection:
  Despain draws a parallel between African Americans and Indigenous Americans, both navigating disrupted connections to ancestral foodways.

8. Rethinking Thanksgiving (20:14–21:55)

• Advice for Thoughtful Celebration:
  For those grappling with the colonial history of Thanksgiving:

  “Acknowledgment is... the first step in the positive and the right direction... Yes, we’ve gone through a lot... but there’s also a lot of beautiful things happening.” — Piet Despain (20:32)

  • Use food as an entry point to gratitude and honest reflection.
  • Engage in conversation about history and resilience at the family table.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On reconnecting with family history:

  “Being able to ask family members questions about themselves... those were really awesome opportunities for me to really dive into that.” — Piet Despain (01:47)

• On language and culture:

  “Our language, unfortunately, is on the brink of extinction. And so we’re really trying to do what we can and put our best foot forward to preserve not just our language, because with language comes culture and a lot of storytelling.” — Piet Despain (04:34)

• On the Three Sisters:

  “It makes sense to keep them together even when they’re on the plate.” — Piet Despain (10:32)

• On fry bread’s symbolism:

  “There’s more to our food than fry bread. ...We have the highest rate of diabetes in our community, unfortunately, because of our... food habits. And fry bread contributes to that.” — Piet Despain (16:09)

• On culinary curiosity and expanding perspective:

  “The first way that I have experienced people really leaning into the history and the culture of others is through their food.” — Piet Despain (21:42)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |---------------|-----------| | Piet describes reconnecting through her cookbook | 01:21–02:33 | | Family influences | 02:36–03:04 | | Potawatomi "fire keeper" heritage | 03:07–05:18 | | Language, culture, and QR codes in cookbook | 05:18–05:44 | | Diversity among Indigenous cuisine | 06:18–08:09 | | Eating seasonally and respecting the land | 08:09–09:50 | | Three Sister Salad recipe & story | 10:00–11:39 | | Wahape and barbecue sauce | 12:37–15:16 | | Fry bread—context & controversy | 15:16–17:05 | | Blue Corn Strawberry Tamales & Mexican crossover | 17:15–18:38 | | Black cultural influences in Despain’s cooking | 18:38–20:14 | | Thanksgiving: honoring, acknowledging, celebrating | 20:14–21:55 |

Conclusion

This episode is an illuminating and deeply personal exploration of how food anchors identity, bridges histories, and sparks meaningful conversations. Chef Piet Despain skillfully weaves together her Potawatomi and Mexican heritage, honoring ancestral wisdom, addressing cultural complexities, and offering delicious, attainable ways for all to connect with Native and Mexican cuisines. Listening to this episode, or reading the cookbook, offers more than recipes—it’s a call for curiosity, respect, and joyful recognition of cultural diversity at the table.