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Pyet DeSpain, "Rooted in Fire: A Celebration of Native American and Mexican Cooking" (HarperOne, 2025)
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B
And for delivery. Welcome to the New Books Network.
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A
Welcome to New Books Network. We're on the Food Channel. My name is Laura Goldberg. I'm going to be your host today. And we're talking to Piet Despain. And she has a book coming out called Rooted in A Celebration of Native American and Mexican Cooking. And I will say it is a fascinating book on several levels. Welcome to the show, Piet.
- [01:41]
B
Thank you for having me.
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A
Well, I have to say, you know, your background fascinated me. You're both Native American and Mexican. You have roots in both. And, you know, you call this book, in the very beginning, the First Window into my soul. And I'm wondering, how do you feel about people opening up that window and what do you want them to do when they close the book? What do you want them to walk away with?
- [02:11]
B
I, first off, how I feel. I. It's, it's been a vulnerable journey for sure, just to be transparent and open and just really share a lot of details about my life. I, as you, you know, I don't know, you know, who has read the book so far. I mean, it's. You have, obviously. But when people, folks get a chance to read my story, the beginning is there's a lot going on. You know, it's a. There's a lot to impact as far as, like my family dynamic. And that's something that I wasn't always comfortable and confident talking about, because being a multicultural person, I really struggled with my identity and I really struggled with where to fit in and, you know, what table to sit at at school, lunch and things like that. And that was something that really had a lasting impact on me all the way up until my adulthood, until I became a chef and really found a lot of my identity through food. And so this book is really that. That story of my upbringing, my life, how my family and my heritage has really played a. And who I am today and the decisions I've made as a chef and the food that I decided to focus on, but also who I am in the real world outside of the kitchen. And so when we talk about a window into my soul at the. At the, you know, the base and the root of everything, it's my family, it's my community that really drives me. It's the cultural upbringings that drive everything that I do. And is the root of that fire so rooted in fire? That's how the title came. And then what I hope for folks to. To walk away with is feeling confident and proud of their own stories because of that lack of, you know, confidence I had growing up with being multicultural. But I come to find that the more we all open up the conversation of being multicultural and leaning into our authenticity and our stories and really finding power in our most, you know, our biggest insecurities, finding power and strength in them is so important. So I talk a bit about that as well. So I hope folks can resonate with that and then also think about the traditions that they are creating within their own families. When. When they think about what's next to come in my life or within my family, I hope that they are able to really think about the traditions that they want to and, like, bring, bring back or continue to highlight and persevere forward in teaching others those traditions. And there's also a lot about. In the last chapter of the book, I pay a lot of attention to that one specifically because it's one of my favorite chapters. Celebrating the seasons isn't just about eating seasonally. It's really about the way that we, as well, change throughout the seasons. And taking moments of reflection of that change within ourselves is important. And. And that last chapter, celebrating the seasons, is really just like it says, it's celebrating each season of not just the actual seasons of the weather and the time of the year, it's the seasons of our own lives.
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A
Well, you know, there's a lot in the book about celebrating and honoring. For example, you'd said, mother Earth cannot be owned in terms of celebrating the earth. And then you also talked about. About spirit plates, which I found fascinating. Cause I feel like that's something that a lot of cultures have in different ways. I'm Jewish and immediately made me think of the Passover Seder plate, which is a very different kind of thing. But can you talk more about bringing ceremony or gratitude into your cooking as well as into your life?
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B
Oh, absolutely. So the spirit plate represents those that come before us, that pass down all the traditions and the knowledge and just the journey that a lot of folks before us had to make in order for us to even be where we are in life and in civilization, in society, in our families, the traditions that we carry, the foods that are on our tables, that really signify our culture and our upbringing in our families. So it's really a prayer to those that come before us, that pass a lot of that, you know, that prayer down to us. And then it's also for ourselves, a moment of reflection to give thanks for what we do have at our table, what we have in our lives. For those that are spiritual, if you have, you know, that connection to the divine creator and your. In your. In your ancestors, it's a reflection. And it's also a moment of recognizing those guidances in our lives. And then it's also that prayer for the next seven generations to come after us, because we obviously want to leave a good impact on. On the. On the earth and the world. So that way, those that come after us have something good and positive to look forward to. And so that prayer really signifies all of those different things. And also, you know, spirit play is used for ceremonial purposes in our tribe and a lot of tribal nations and a lot of communities and other spiritual practices. But I was wondering, why do we only use it for these special occasions? You know, this. The. The spirit plate should be something that we use regularly and that we should. About any opportunity we have to have a meal with our friends or family or even just taking time for ourselves. So I have really created this habit of keeping that in mind. Not when I'm just eating, but also when I'm cooking, when I'm curating meals for my family or my friends or even. It's just myself. It's really being intentional about what I'm putting in my body. It's being intentional about where I'm sourcing those ingredients. And also the presentation. When you think about presenting a plate or presenting a meal to someone, you want it to look good, you want them to know, oh, this person spent a lot of time and effort and kept me in mind when they were thinking, I'm going to sit down at this table and enjoy this meal. They presented in such a beautiful way. It's a gift. And so that prayer and that part of ceremony should be something that we do regularly, not just special occasions and special times. Because in a climate like today, there's a lot of chaos and a lot of craziness going on.
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God. Yes.
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You know, like, what better way to celebrate ourselves and celebrate the people in our lives than creating those special moments on a regular basis, you know? Yeah, Emmy.
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And there's also something to be said for eating with the eyes.
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B
Absolutely.
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A
And I mean, you know, but in terms of eating, I just want to go back a bit to something you were talking about in the book, which is a really critical issue, which is, you know, being connected to your culture, but also eating healthily and well and being connected to the land. And you were talking about how many native kids, like, didn't even grow up tasting any of their ancestral foods. And that a lot of the foods that, that they had access to weren't, weren't necessarily healthy. They were processed. And so I'm curious for you, what was that, that first traditional ingredient or that dish that really connected you to your, to the Native American culture? And then I'd love to hear the same about your, your Mexican roots.
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B
You know, it's funny as, as, I don't know cliche or simple of an answer, but it's really corn, which is so beautiful and used in so many different ways on both sides of my family. But the first dish, ceremonial dish that I had not just had, like, eaten and tasted, but also learned how to make by my grandmother, who is my full blood native grandmother. And she taught me how to make corn soup. It's corn soup and beef. But in the cookbook, I actually have this recipe in there, and I switched the beef out for bison to keep it more traditional. But that was the first meal that my grandmother taught me how to make that was passed down from her mother, and I'm sure was passed down from her mother and their mother. And then you have this lineage and this beautiful recipe that's been passed down, and that's something that was so special to me. And the flavor and the taste of that soup, it just, it's, it's very nostalgic and it's reminds me of my childhood and those times spent with my grandmother. And then I think about corn on my Mexican side of the Family. There's a story in there about my grandmother on my dad's side. Her allowing me to make tamales with the family on Christmas Eve for the first time, and me feeling that importance of, okay, I've. I've graduated from the kiddie table, and now I'm at the kitchen counter with all my aunties and my grandma, and I'm helping them in the assembly line of making tamales. And that smell of, like, fresh ground corn. And just, like, the aromas of that corn smell is just so divine. And it's just something. So I don't know how to explain it. It really just, like, it does something to my spirit and my soul. Just really ignites a lot of happiness and joy. And so corn would definitely be something that I would say is. It grounds me on both sides. It's something that I use very often in my cooking. But also teaching folks how to use it in a different way than what we're used to seeing. And also using different varieties than just that yellow golden corn.
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A
There's a lot in your book about ingredients that. That really opened my eyes. I mean, one of them. And you mentioned before bison. And, you know, I know you talk about the near extinction of bison, and it certainly mirrors the way that the native food ways almost completely disappeared, or the systems, I should say. I mean, you know, we don't get to hear about it. And so I look forward to really shining a spotlight on it with you today. And I think that's one of the things that's very special in your book, especially as it's woven in with your own Mexican American roots. But looking at the ingredients, I gotta say, this is gonna be a weird sort of side story. But I have a local butcher, and I was in my local butcher. My local butcher actually sells bison and quail and a lot of unusual. What we as Americans, average Americans, would consider unusual meats. And there was a French woman in there, and she wanted to buy rabbit. Cause that's something that she's used to cooking with. When she saw the price tag, her jaw dropped. Ludicrous. You know, she's like that, you know, and she. And I started talking, and she's like, well, this would be an inexpensive meal at home. And I'm like, it's totally different here. And I can promise you the cost of the bison and quail was exorbitant. And so I saw in your book, I mean, you've got like, you know, bison meatballs, a raspberry mezcal, barbecued quail. I mean, it Sounds delicious. But you, if I'm not incorrect, were taught to hunt by your grandfather. And you know, those were things. I mean, I don't know if you can even get bison regularly, but like, how do you approach these different ingredients that are maybe not available to a wide variety of people? What made you decide? No, I have to include bison. No, I have to include quail. Recognizing all that, you know, that is.
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B
Such a good question. And that's something that I as a chef have and actually just writing this book in general struggled with a bit because I was like, you know, a lot of people aren't going to be able to find quail. But the purpose of the book is to celebrate the ingredients that we don't get to highlight on a regular basis. And you're right, the prices of these, these things that were once like super inexpensive and quote unquote, like cheap and easy to find at one point in our lives, like way back when, before, you know, mass production of chicken and beef happened, those were things that were prominent here. And that's the, that's what the root of indigenous Native American cuisine is. It's all the food that was here pre settler, pre influenced by other countries in European and Spanish. And so I really wanted to highlight these proteins because of that, because you don't see that highlighted a lot in cookbooks or even in mainstream media or at your local restaurants. And if you do see these things on the menu, they come with a penny, pretty, a pretty penny of a price or they're considered like a premium meat, which is really crazy. The, the fact that bison now has become a lot more accessible makes me very happy because I've had a lot of folks say, yeah, I actually was able to find bison, you know, ground beef or ground, ground bison right next to ground beef. And I'm like, great, utilize it more. Because that, that price that you're paying is actually, there's, there's the fact that there are conservation laws in fat that are in place to protect the bison and you're getting a, you are getting a premium quality of a meat and it's better for you. It is going to be a little bit more expensive, but in the long run it's better for your health, it's better for the environment and you're going to get more protein per ounce because there's less fat content and it's not mass produced like that beef right next to it. So I really wanted to highlight the ingredients that we don't normally get to see. And that's the whole point. And you know, of course, if people want to substitute out instead of using the quail, they can use chicken if they want to, you know. And I give those little tips and tricks, but my goal was to really allow my audience to see a different side of the cuisine that they're used to seeing on social media or mainstream media or even in their grocery stores. But it does challenge them a bit to go out of their way to find something else, which is what we should be doing anyways, because the grocery stores are not. They don't have our health and our best livelihoods in mind when they're putting these foods out on the shelves. So I think maybe it draws some attention to maybe outsourcing from a different place, like a local butcher, which helps the local economy. The Subaru Share the Love Event is on from November 20th to January 2nd. During this event, Subaru donates to charities like the ASPCA, helping support more than 142,000 animals so far. When you purchase or lease a new vehicle during the 2025 Subaru Share the Love Event, Subaru and its retailers will make a minimum $300 donation to charity. Visit subaru.comshare to learn more.
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A
Yeah, no, I also believe very strongly in farmer's markets. Slash green markets. I'm lucky enough. I live in New York. I have one not too far away. But, you know, not everybody has access to that. But, you know, I would love for you to talk a little bit about also plants, you know, Cause you talk about foraging and connecting with plant relatives. I mean, like, you know, can you talk about some of the ingredients from the land that you're also spotlighting and what you love and what you love cooking with and why.
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B
Oh, absolutely. One of the ingredients that I highlighted is dandelion greens. And I know everybody, doesn't matter where you live. You can live in California, you can live in North Carolina, you can live in Kansas. Everyone has dandelion greens in their. In their yard or in a yard somewhere nearby.
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I used to think dandelion GRE vines were actual flowers. I'd pick them for my mother when I was a little girl.
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Yeah. And, you know, those are something that a lot of folks are just killing with weed killer or trying to get rid of because they're quote unquote weeds and they're. They're pesky and they're just a nuance. And the people are just like, oh, I want to get rid of these, but. And you know, they're actually really, really good for you. There's a lot of nutritional benefits. It's comes free depending on where you live, and you can pick it and forage out of your own yard if you hasn't been tainted by anything else or any pesticides or animals and things like that. But I have a bunch growing in my yard, and I decided, you know, I think I'll leave a few of them because they always regenerate. And I'll always have dandelion greens. And I can use these for salads. I can use the root and the greens for a tea, which is really good for your skin. And there's just so many amazing benefits to dandelion greens. And this is something that is accessible to everyone. If people could just change their perspective of, oh, this is actually food and has a lot more nutrients than kale does. And kale's been glorified as, like, the superfood of the world.
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A
Oh, my God. Kale everywhere. Kale everywhere.
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B
I know kale chips now, and I'm like, come on. Which is great. You know, I love that people are utilizing vegetables in all these really awesome ways. But let's open our and broaden our perspective and bring in a few things that are accessible and are easy to find. Another thing that I've been able to notice a lot here in California, and if you live in the Southwest, you're able to see these things called purslane, and they're pretty prominent everywhere as well. Those kind of grow out in the wild, and those are things that you can harvest and eat, and they're really good for you. And yeah, those are two that come to mind. That I feel like most folks are able to, like, find in a lot of places.
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A
Well, I'll say that I've actually seen both of those available to me from time to time at the Green Market, but it's only from time to time, and they certainly aren't going to be available at my local bodega or even my supermarket. But I think part of this is about opening yourself up to new ingredients, too. I mean, there was a point where nobody knew kale. There was a point where nobody. People went ick when you said goat cheese.
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B
Oh, I know it.
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A
So, I mean, it's really about changing the way that you think about, you know, how to approach food. It doesn't need to be exactly, you know, what you've always known. Yeah.
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B
And, you know, the more conversations we have about these ingredients, hopefully the more that we will see them. You know, like you said, at one point, not everybody knew about kale. At one point, not everybody was eating goat cheese or eating this or eating that. And so I hope. And this is one. One objective of the book is that if we talk about it enough and if it's published, you know, and if it's. There's more than one chef that's representing indigenous cuisine and Native American foods in this way, maybe more people will be interested. And I feel there's a shift in the food industry right now, obviously, because of our current food systems are failing us. They're not providing us with foods that are actually full of nutrition, even when they say they are. And so I hope that books like mine and books like Sean Sherman and there's other books out. Out there that talk about hunting and foraging and gathering. I hope that there's a collective of people that want to change the way that they are eating food the way that they're, you know, hopefully they'll want to grow their own food, and maybe we'll be able to see a lot of these foods more prominently because they're a lot better for us than what is being offered.
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A
Well, you know, you were talking about the. The, you know, Native American ingredients, but I mean, also Mexican American ingredients. But what I think there is definitely there's. I mean, I know there's definitely an embrace of Mexican cuisine in the United States and around the world, but I don't feel like I've been exposed to Native American.
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B
You have. You just don't know it.
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A
Can you unpack that, please? And also, I'd love to talk to you about restaurant culture and Native American food ways and whether or not you visualize this book, helping to inspire moving this particular kind of cuisine forward in a very different way.
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B
Definitely. Well, to answer the question about unpacking Native American foods and Mexican foods, and a lot of people are thinking, oh, I've never had that before. And it goes to show how uneducated some people are. I'm not saying you're uneducated, but some people don't realize, not because it's their fault, but because there is no coverage of these. Of this information in our textbooks. Even when I went to culinary school, there was no breakdown of what indigenous cuisine is of the Americas. Even in the American Regional Cuisine Cookbook that I had to study in order to even graduate from my program, there's no talk about what these foods are. So a lot of people don't know that the foods that they do see at the supermarket are derivatives from indigenous foods. So if you've had any variation of squash, you've had Native American food. If you've had a wild rice, there's a lot of wild rice blends out there. You know, in different whole foods and different grocery stores, wild rice is indigenous. If you have ever eaten, you know, a duck or, like you were saying, rabbit, like, those are all indigenous. And so if people just knew the education around where those foods come from and how they even ended up on the plate, they'd be very surprised. Like tomatoes. If you've. If you've ever eaten a tomato, then you've eaten indigenous foods, because those are all things that are indigenous to the Americas. And when we think about Native American and Mexican food and the difference between the two are different settling countries and influences from settlers that came in and decolonize or colonized their food systems. And now we're doing the work to decolonize it and to let people know, hey, the reason why there is a difference in this cuisine and that cuisine is a literal border that separates us now, or when that border didn't exist.
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A
These were made up.
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B
Exactly. And these foods, they coexisted and these people coexisted, and things were being traded and bartered, and that was a sense of currency. And there's a lot of similarities of the northern indigenous people of the America and the South. And there's a difference in those cuisines based off of climate, obviously. But a lot of the ingredients are the same, like the beans, the corn, the squash, different variations of peppers and greens and things like that. And. Yeah, so when we unpacked it, at the root of the fact that there isn't a lot enough education around what Native American foods are. There isn't a lot of education on the history of our foods and how they've evolved and how Mexican food became so popular, but it's because that's a country now. They've been highlighted. Those foods have been highlighted culturally as a country of Mexico or of other southern or South. What is the word I'm looking for? My gosh. My gosh. South American countries. And then you think about Native American, and you think. You look at our foods, and the first thing that does not pop into your mind is what Native American foods are. It's the diversity and the melting pot of which America is and what our cuisine and our food represents. We don't see that education around the original foods of this country. And so when we try to unpack the history, there's a lot of education that needs to be done for folks to understand what our foods are and why they are so similar to Mexican food.
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A
And, I mean, I've gotta say, looking at some of the recipes that are in here, I was struck by exactly what you were talking about. And I also was struck because now the book comes out November 18th, and obviously that's right before Thanksgiving. But I was looking at a lot of these recipes, and they feel Thanksgiving, which in some ways makes sense to me. Not that the history of that quote, unquote, holiday isn't absolute BS in many ways, but mushroom and poblano wild rice with duck fat. Or, you know, there was roasted sunchokes or sweet potatoes. Like, I hadn't thought. Oh, that's indigenous. No, was roasted sage and maple sweet potatoes. You know, I think we're really, you know, completely uneducated about this. I, you know, I know I am. And that's why it was such a revelation to actually, you know, crack open your book and read about it. And I'm just wondering what you see for the future of indigenous cuisine. And, you know, you call your book. You know, in your book, you say your food's actually indigenous fusion. I'd love for you to unpack what that is exactly. But, you know, I also would love to know what you think about where you could see this cuisine going.
- [27:24]
B
So, yeah, definitely, the recipes are. The way that I approach the recipes is I approached them in a way that seemed familiar to folks. So the last thing that I would ever want to do is make someone feel like they're not welcome to the conversation. And when you have a lot of words like decolonize and that float around in this particular topic, it's a powerful word. But Also, some people feel, like, guilty or they feel some sort of shame around it, so they shy away from wanting to explore it because some folks kind of come off a little aggressive with it, you know, and rightfully so. My approach is a little different. My approach is, yeah, Heck, yeah. Like, we should be upset. We should be mad about all the things. But just as much as we can be upset, we can also celebrate. And there has to be a balance of emotions when we are, you know, approaching this topic and approaching the movement of making these feeds, these foods and this education more relevant and people wanting to actually dive into it and want to explore it a little bit more. So when I talk about this being a celebration of Native American and Mexican fusion, the purpose of that is so people can feel like, oh, this is warm. This feels inviting. This feels like something I want to learn about, I want to celebrate. I like celebrating food. I like Mexican food. And the reason why I wanted people to understand that it's a fusion is because I myself, I'm a fusion, and I'm just following what's in my heart and I'm representing myself and my story on a plate in a cookbook, and it's my story and that it's very personal and this is what I'm most passionate about. And so for folks to be able to read these stories and look at these recipes and approach it from a way of curiosity, but also something that's inviting, something that's invitational, something that feels familiar is what I really, really wanted. Because if I approach this in a way of giving ingredients and a list of things that people have never heard of, would never be able to find, would never be able to even, you know, where to start, then I don't think that I'm doing the food justice or the movement justice, because a lot of people are going to kind of shy away from that. And my goal is to really be inviting. So when we talk about these recipes being, you know, kind of holiday ish or quote, unquote, more Thanksgiving, it's because those foods were more. Are more prominent in the fall. We base this entire holiday around an encounter that happened with settlers and indigenous people and what was on the table. Indigenous foods, which is why the turkey is so popular during Thanksgiving, is because that is literally what was being eaten by indigenous people and given as a gift, as a meal to the people that they were sharing that meal with. So that's why you have all of these ingredients that are being highlighted during the seasons, because it's seasonal, obviously. And secondly, they're indigenous, and people just don't know that. But when we talk about a fusion, it's really about understanding that all of these ingredients actually are all from the Americas. And the reason why I use the word fusion is because of those two concepts of Native American and Mexican being two separate things. For a lot of folks, the goal is to really say, actually, if the border didn't exist, it'd all be indigenous foods, period of the Americas. And that's kind of like the idea that I'm trying to convey to people and to teach them is it's actually really similar because they're all indigenous to the Americas. It's just a border of two countries that separate them.
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- [32:19]
A
I'm just curious. Is there a community of chefs or other people, farmers that you know that have similar backgrounds or are Native American or Mexican American, where you've been able to think about and sort of figure out a way forward to shine more of a spotlight on all of this?
- [32:39]
B
Oh, absolutely. We have a wonderful community of indigenous folks that call themselves both Native American and Mexican or just indigenous, that are a part of this entire movement and have amazing jobs, not just jobs, but positions and different organizations that are really pushing the needle forward. We have chefs, we have farmers, we have small food businesses. We have, you know, agricultural professionals that know all the things and like, they're just. There's so many people that know Our soil down to a science. And they, they're all pushing this movement forward. And so every year there are about. I know off the top of my head, there's three very big conferences that happen. One is the Native American Nutritional Conference that happens every year. There's another one that I just went to in Seattle. I forget the name. I think it's called Gathered and Grown. And they were all indigenous people that were indigenous owned businesses. They are hunters, forages, gatherers. They're people that are chefs. There's just so many professionals in this world. There's a lot of us out there. But the crazy thing is when we think about a Native American chef and we Google it, we see one or two, three names pop up and they're just. There's so many more people that aren't getting highlighted. And so to answer your question, yeah, there's a lot of us that are really pushing this forward. A lot of us have our different mediums and our different talents and skills in which we're able to build an audience around it. Luckily, I had the privilege of an amazing opportunity and platform which is winning Next Level Chef on a national televised cooking show. And I got the platform to speak up about who I am and what I represent. And I did get some flack on some people saying, oh, all she does is talk about being Native American. She wants everyone to feel sorry for her and her people. And I'm like, you know, I don't take that as an insult. I take that as like a compliment that I made a lasting impact, that people were actually listening and they were like, oh, she's indigenous. Like, we all look different. I'm obviously not someone, when you look at me, I look like a Native American person. I have to explain who I am and my name, Piet Mo Kwe, which I talk about how I got that name. And I started going by Piet when I was in my early 20s. And the reason why is because I wanted that to be the introduction that I gave to the world. So when people ask me, what is my name? And I say Piet, they're like, where is that from? That's a very unique name. And then I get to tell them, actually it stands, it's a much shorter name for Piet Wetmokue, which is my indigenous given name. And I lead with that because I want people to know that we are here, we are present. 75% of indigenous folks don't even live in reservations. We have lives, we have careers. We're not just this past tense person. Running around with buckskin in the wilderness that people see. There's a lot of people that meet us and think, I didn't even know indigenous people or Native American people still existed. And it's very crazy to think about that. So when we think about the community of people that I know to be, to exist and that are doing the work, the fact that they're not highlighted as much as they should be is really, really sad. But the fact that I have the opportunity to kind of be that gateway for people, I feel privileged, I feel honored, and I do it as respectfully and honorably as I possibly can.
- [36:15]
A
You know, you talked about Next Level, and I was going to bring that up Next Level Chef. You know, in the book, you talk about actually getting onto that set and feeling a deep, deep seated feeling of being an imposter, you know, imposter syndrome. And what, you know, you talk a bit about what pushed you through to actually get to the other side of that. And one of those things is a very dear friend who's, I believe, no longer with us. But what can you, can you talk a bit about how that, how you were able to work through it and what people who want to bring something to the world and share their own experiences, what, what they should be thinking about in order to sort of break through that and get to the other side?
- [37:02]
B
Definitely, yeah. That experience on Next Level Chef was a very eye opening experience because I, you know, I initially went onto that show just thinking, oh, I'm just going to quote, unquote, get clout from this or like, gain popular on social media or just be able to have my name in a sentence next to Gordon Ramsay would be amazing. And I can utilize this and leverage my career, which is what we're all doing on tv, you know. So I was like, oh, this is going to be a great opportunity for that. And, and I was like, if I, you know, if I make it past, you know, the third round, I'd be happy. And I just went in thinking, I'm probably not going to make it very far just because I, I think everyone kind of has not, I wouldn't say everyone, but most people that I know that were there on the show kind of had that same feeling of feeling a little bit of an imposter syndrome. But when you're opening yourself up to this type of challenge, you're all gonna, you're gonna be, it's gonna be televised. Of course, it's a little nerve wracking. You're not sure how it's gonna Go how or how you're gonna perform under pressure. It's a whole new world. And that's how I was really feeling. Like, wow, like this is crazy. And so when early, really, really early into that competition experience when I had a friend who unfortunately took her life, that was some, that was the most eye opening experience because I thought to myself, oh, how can I be here? How can I stay in this competition and focus and be in this environment under this type of, you know, stress and mourning? And my mom had to convince me to stay and continue competing. And it was really hard for me. And so I had to have a really serious talk with myself on whether or not if I do stay, how do I approach this? You know, I have to recognize that I've been giving a amazing opportunity to speak my truth and to be authentic and to really stand for something and to talk about what I'm most passionate about. And that's about my community and that's about uplifting them and bringing the beauty of our cuisine and our food and our culture to the forefront. And that's what I decided to do. And so every opportunity I got to talk about our people, I did. Or my community, I did. And we have a lot of these issues of, you know, just like not just our community. I know like a lot of people like to highlight only the bad stuff and talk about the bad things that are happening with our communities, but just as much of alcoholism and drug addiction and suicide, just as much as we have a lot of that in our communities, which is very detrimental mental and, and affecting our communities in a very bad way. We have beautiful things to, to offer the world as well. And so I wanted to make sure that I was addressing that and the way that I countered those, those feelings of feeling really sad, I had to really highlight things and, and I always talk about a balance which when we talk about in the book, I talk a lot about the medicine wheel and how it's a balance of all things. It's a balance of all things with our emotions and the way that we carry ourselves on a day to day basis. And so if anyone wants to represent something on a huge platform or even on social media or in the world or in the work that they do, it's really understanding and reflecting on why you do what you do. Finding your why, finding your passion, finding the root of all things, finding the root of your fire. And that will literally navigate you and internally in life, not just in your professional life, your personal life, your, your, your relationship with yourself, all of it.
- [40:37]
A
So that leads me to actually, your dedication in the book, which was to your nieces and nephews, and you called them the fire keepers. Yeah. So I'm hoping you could share a bit about that and. And. And what you hope that they and other young native and Mexican American kids might see in your story.
- [41:00]
B
Absolutely. So my nieces and nephews are so near and dear to me, and they are all so beautiful and smart, and I wanted to make sure that they knew, you know, I don't get to spend a lot of time with them because I live in California and they live either in Kansas or Texas or I have a lot of. My nieces and nephews live in North Dakota, Cota, with my brother. And so although I don't get to spend a lot of time with them, I keep them in mind with a lot of what I do with my life because I know that they are watching me, even through social media. My brother will send me a text, oh, we're watching you on TV tonight. And he'll send me a picture of the girls and my nephew, like, all huddled around the TV watching me. They have print printouts of my head on sticks, and they're like. They have, like, pronouns of me, and I'm like, my nieces and nephews are my biggest fans, and they're so proud of me, and they're proud to know me, and I just know that I influence them. And so I have to make sure that I'm keeping them in mind and everything that I do. And would it be easy just to, like, walk in life aimlessly and not care about what other people think or whatever? Yeah, sure. But what. What I, me, personally, what really fuels me is knowing that they're watching my nieces and nephews, knowing that they look up to me, knowing that whatever it is that I'm doing, they're going to think I'm the coolest person on the planet. And that really warms my heart. And so I wanted them to know that this world has so much beauty to offer them and that they themselves are worthy of whatever it is that they set their heart and their dreams out to do. And that's the same with every child in the world is the world does seem scary sometimes. But just as there are, I said it a few times already, just as there are a lot of scary and negative things, there's so much beauty and positivity in the world. And I hope that they look for that, because the more that you look for that, the more enjoyable life is, and the more that you have confidence in yourself and know that you have a support system where people that are rooting for you, the better. The better chances of you having the courage to go out and do whatever it is that you want to do in life is greater. And I'm so fortunate to have had such positive people and role models in my life at a young age that weren't necessarily my family members. They were people, you know, at my school or in my community or people that were family friends that inspired me at a young age to be different, do different, and to lead a different life than what my family did or could do at the time. Because, you know, my mom was a single mom and she had four kids, and she was trying to find her way through her own life and her own, you know, chapters in her life, as well as caring for kids and the same for my dad and my grandparents. And I was like, you know, I really want to do something with my life to make them proud and let them know that all their efforts didn't go unseen. And I'm grateful for them. And so the biggest joy that I can provide to them is to leave a beautiful, positive, successful life. And the most that I can do for my nieces and nephews is do that for them as well.
- [44:12]
A
Well, you're doing more than that. You're also opening up your community and your own culture to the rest of the world in a way that I think can be pretty profound. I think flavors and being at the table is a really profound way of connecting, and we've talked about that. But one of the other things you did that I was surprised and absolutely delighted by is that in this book, you have QR codes that actually connect you to a companion site that goes into very specific words from your tribe and pronunciations. And I would love you to explain a bit about the thinking behind doing that and why. I can come up with a million reasons, but I'm just curious what your thinking was, as you said. Nope. I need to add QR codes into my. My book.
- [45:08]
B
Yeah, definitely. So I. For my tribe, specifically, the Potawatomi language is, unfortunately a dying language. A lot of our fluent speakers within my own community, prairie band Potawatomi, we don't have. I don't think we have any. I think we have one or two, maybe one more lasting, fluent speaker of our language. And to be a fire keeper in keeping our traditions alive as Potawatomi people is upholding those traditions and passing them forward. And so as I learn to, you know, pronounce these words, and to know the words of, of these items and these foods, things that I'm using in my kitchen and these ingredients as I'm learning them. I'm trying to teach other people about it too. And my mother as well. Like, my mom and I will be talking or we'll be texting each other and I will just like, I'll mention a Potawatomi word to her and she'll be like, oh, I didn't know that word. And I'm just trying my best as a non speaker and I'm, I'm not in my community on a regular basis. As far as like my tribal community. I don't get to be around other speakers or other Potawatomi people very often. So I figured, you know, I'm trying to learn my language the best I can. It's really difficult when you don't have other people to, to speak with. But I want to learn eventually one day to be fluent. I think it'll take me probably a lifetime, but I'm still going to keep trying every day. And my responsibility as a firekeeper is to keep our traditions alive and that's including our language. So I wanted to make sure that I was adding Potawatomi language in the book to hopefully inspire other folks to want to learn their language. And I just don't want our language to get lost. Because once you lose language and you lose food traditions, like, what else do you have that connects you to your culture? Because there's so many beautiful stories about our language and about our food systems that connect us to the land, that connect us to our ancestors, that connect us to these belief systems. And when you take those things away, you really diminish the people. And that's one thing that I don't want to happen. So my QR code that leads to, will eventually lead to once it'll be published the day that the book is published. But there will be a QR code, as you mentioned, that leads you to my website. On my website, there will be a series of videos of me pronouncing these words and my Potawatomi language.
- [47:37]
A
I've gotta say, it really impressed me that you were doing that. You wanna make sure that this book even goes beyond the table to help preserve your legacy and your community's legacy. And it really, it really took this book to another level for me. But before I let you go, I need to ask if there's one recipe in the book, Someone just opening your book for the first time and you want them to experience Indigenous fusion. What would that recipe be? I mean, I know you've gotten a lot of notoriety, I believe. I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing this correctly. Wahape. Your wahape barbecue sauce. I wasn't sure if it would be that or something else. What would it be?
- [48:24]
B
Yeah, yeah. So that word is washopi. And yeah, that. That sauce has gotten a lot of glory, has a really good reputation. It won me a challenge during that filming of Next Level Chef. But I would say there's so many good ones. So I would say, as far as, like, fusion wise, I really love and things that I think I know. Well, not that I think, but I know are accessible to folks, is like the three Sister Sal. That is one where all of those ingredients, the beans, the corn, the squash, are really rooted in both sides. My Mexican and my native side, obviously. We talk about cuisines. And then we also have the poblano and corn tamales. Oh, my goodness. Like, that's one of my favorite. I just made them last night for a catering company that I. Or not catering company. I catered them for a company that I'm dropping off later today. And I made like 120 of these. These poblano corn tamales. And I was just, like, smelling all the corn and I was like, oh, my gosh, it's so good. I would say those ones because I've cooked them most recently, but all of them really are good introductions to this fusion. Throughout the book, obviously, a lot of folks will just see familiar things, and you'll see things that maybe they're not so familiar with. So I hope that they will try new things. But I would definitely say those tamales are at the top of my list. And I'm trying to think. I think that's really what comes to mind.
- [49:55]
A
Yeah. Well, I feel like I can almost smell the aroma right now, so I'm getting hungry. So I'm going to let you go. But I want to tell listeners the book once again will be out November 18, and it's rooted in a celebration of Native American and Mexican cooking by Piet Despain. And I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to talk today.
- [50:21]
B
Thank you for having me. I definitely appreciate it. And thank you for giving me your platform to share my story and my book with your audience.
- [50:30]
A
Absolutely.