Podcast Summary: New Books Network – "Rooted in Fire: A Celebration of Native American and Mexican Cooking" with Pyet DeSpain

Host: Laura Goldberg
Guest: Pyet DeSpain
Release Date: November 20, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode of New Books Network, host Laura Goldberg interviews chef Pyet DeSpain about her forthcoming book, Rooted in Fire: A Celebration of Native American and Mexican Cooking (HarperOne, 2025). The conversation explores Pyet's multicultural heritage, the role of food in identity formation, ancestral ingredients, food sovereignty, the importance of ceremony in daily life, and the movement to highlight and reclaim Indigenous culinary traditions. Through personal stories, culinary insights, and broader cultural reflections, Pyet shares her journey as a chef and the vital work of preserving language and foodways for future generations.

Key Topics & Insights

1. Opening the "First Window": Food as Identity & Healing

[01:43–05:17]

• Pyet describes the book as the "first window into my soul," sharing vulnerability about her multicultural upbringing and struggles with identity.
  • Quote: "Being a multicultural person, I really struggled with my identity and...what table to sit at at school lunch...I really found a lot of my identity through food." (Pyet, 02:35)
• The book is both a personal narrative and a call for readers to honor their own stories and create or renew family traditions.
• Pyet's favorite chapter is on "celebrating the seasons" — not just seasonal eating, but reflection on the changes in one's own life.

2. Ceremony, Gratitude, and the Spirit Plate

[05:17–08:35]

• Discusses the spiritual practice of the "spirit plate": honoring ancestors, expressing gratitude, and making a prayer for the next seven generations.
  • Quote: "The spirit plate represents those that come before us, that pass down all the traditions and the knowledge..." (Pyet, 05:56)
• Pyet encourages bringing this sense of intentionality and gratitude to everyday meals, not just special occasions: "That part of ceremony should be something that we do regularly, not just special occasions and special times." (Pyet, 07:58)

3. Food, Health, and Ancestral Connections

[08:39–11:25]

• Many Native children grow up disconnected from their ancestral foods, eating mostly processed foods.
• Corn is central to both her Native and Mexican heritage; first traditional dish she learned was corn soup, which she now makes with bison for authenticity.
• Story of learning to make tamales marks moving from "the kiddie table" to being entrusted in family food-making.

4. Highlighting Indigenous Ingredients

[11:25–16:40]

• The book intentionally spotlights ingredients like bison, quail, and rabbit, which were once central to Indigenous diets but are now niche, expensive, or unfamiliar.
• Economic and supply challenges are acknowledged; substitutions are offered, but the focus remains on education and celebration.
  • Quote: "The purpose of the book is to celebrate the ingredients that we don't get to highlight on a regular basis." (Pyet, 13:28)
• Pyet explains why it's meaningful for people to seek out and support local butchers or alternative food sources.

5. Foraging, Plants, and Changing Food Perspectives

[17:25–21:59]

• Pyet champions common, overlooked plants like dandelion greens and purslane for their nutrition and accessibility.
  • Quote: "There's just so many amazing benefits to dandelion greens. And this is something that is accessible to everyone." (Pyet, 18:38)
• Host and guest discuss consumer resistance to new foods, cultural change, and why highlighting these ingredients can help reshape food systems.

6. Native & Mexican Foodways: Borders and Misconceptions

[21:59–27:23]

• Pyet explains that many foods Americans eat are Indigenous; the distinction between "Native American" and "Mexican" cuisine is rooted in modern borders and colonization.
  • Quote: "If you've had any variation of squash, you've had Native American food. If you've had wild rice...those are all indigenous." (Pyet, 22:52)
• Lack of education about Indigenous contributions to American and Mexican diets is a major barrier.
• Pyet’s concept of "fusion" in the cookbook is both cultural and personal, reflecting her own story.

7. Reclaiming Language & Legacy: QR Codes and Pronunciations

[44:11–47:36]

• The book includes QR codes linking to audio/video for Potawatomi language pronunciation, part of her effort as a "fire keeper" to preserve a dying language.
  • Quote: "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?" (Pyet, 46:16)

8. Community and Culinary Movement

[32:18–36:15]

• Pyet describes a vibrant community of Indigenous chefs, farmers, and food advocates working together to revive and promote Native foods.
  • Notable story: Her television exposure (winning Next Level Chef) made her an ambassador, despite misconceptions about what "looking Native" means.

9. Overcoming Imposter Syndrome & Inspiring Future Generations

[36:15–44:11]

• Pyet discusses wrestling with imposter syndrome on Next Level Chef, grief over a friend’s suicide during filming, and how this experience led her to focus on purpose and passion.
  • Quote: "Finding your why, finding your passion, finding the root of all things, finding the root of your fire. And that will literally navigate you..." (Pyet, 39:27)
• Dedication of book to her nieces and nephews as "fire keepers"; a message to all children to find pride and courage in their stories.

10. Invitation to the Table: Recipes as Hospitality

[48:24–49:54]

• When asked for a recipe that embodies Indigenous fusion, Pyet highlights her "poblano and corn tamales" and the "three sisters salad" (corn, beans, squash) as accessible, meaningful examples.
  • Quote: "All of them really are good introductions to this fusion...but I would definitely say those tamales are at the top of my list." (Pyet, 48:52)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On identity and vulnerability:
  "This book is really that story of my upbringing, my life, how my family and my heritage has really played (a part) in 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." (Pyet, 03:23)
• On honoring ancestors through food:
  "It's really a prayer to those that come before us...and it's also that prayer for the next seven generations to come after us." (Pyet, 06:10)
• On language preservation:
  "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." (Pyet, 45:52)
• On balancing celebration and honesty:
  "My approach is, yeah, Heck, yeah. Like, we should be upset...But just as much as we can be upset, we can also celebrate. And there has to be a balance of emotions..." (Pyet, 28:10)
• On inspiring the next generation:
  "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." (Pyet, 42:06)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:43] – Pyet on her multicultural background and "window into my soul"
• [05:56] – The meaning and daily practice of the spirit plate
• [09:25] – Corn’s centrality in both Native and Mexican cooking; family traditions
• [13:23] – Including bison, quail, and other non-mainstream meats
• [17:56] – Foraging, dandelion greens, and plant relatives
• [22:52] – Explaining how common foods are Indigenous, the impact of culinary education
• [32:39] – Indigenous food community, Next Level Chef, being visible as Native
• [36:15] – Imposter syndrome, grief, "finding your why"
• [41:00] – Dedication to nieces and nephews as "fire keepers"
• [44:11] – Preserving Potawatomi language via QR codes and audio
• [48:24] – Signature recipes: poblano & corn tamales, three sisters salad

Conclusion

This episode is an evocative journey through heritage, food activism, personal resilience, and culinary creativity. Pyet DeSpain not only shares her life and recipes but also issues an invitation: to see food as legacy, eating as ceremony, and tradition as something alive, adaptable, and communal. Her work in Rooted in Fire is not just about sharing recipes, but about honoring ancestors, reclaiming language, building bridges between communities, and inspiring the next generation to carry on the fire.

[Book Release: November 18, 2025 – “Rooted in Fire: A Celebration of Native American and Mexican Cooking” by Pyet DeSpain]