Crystal Wahpepah is an Indigenous American chef. She was the first Indigenous chef on the cooking program Chopped.[1] Wahpepah runs both a catering business and a restaurant, which aim to reclaim Native American cuisine.[2][3] She received the Indigenous Artist Activist Award.[1] Wahpepah was a James Beard Award finalist in the Emerging Chef category in 2022.[4]
Crystal Wahpepah | |
|---|---|
 Wahpepah in 2022 | |
| Born | |
| Education | Le Cordon Bleu |
| Style | Native American cuisine |
Wahpepah was born and raised in Oakland, California.[1] She is a member of the Kickapoo and Sac and Fox tribes of Oklahoma.[5] As a child, she cooked with her older relatives.[5]
Career
editWahpepah attended the Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, where she studied French cooking.[1] Later, she traveled around the United States and learned more about Native farming and cooking.[5] At the time of the opening of her restaurant, Wahpepah's Kitchen, there were no Indigenous food restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Mindess, Anna. "Crystal Wahpepah is clearing a path for Indigenous chefs." nosh. 2020-08-19
- ^ "For the Love of Native Foods: Chef Crystal Wahpepah". www.culturalsurvival.org. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
- ^ "Rare and highly anticipated Native American restaurant debuts in Oakland". The Mercury News. 2021-11-26. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
- ^ Boomgaard, Joe (March 16, 2022). "Indigenous chefs, restaurant advance to finals in James Beard Awards". Tribal Business News. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ a b c Kickapoo chef honors her heritage with Oakland's first Indigenous restaurant (2021). Washington, D.C.: NPR. Retrieved on 2021-12-07.
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