IN THE PRESS
What's eating New York? The secrets of a culinary powerhouse
by Erica Wagner (Financial Times)
It took the National Museum of the American Indian a dozen years to hire a Native American executive chef: Freddie Bitsoie, who is Diné (Navajo), has just taken over at the stove. As at the Sweet Home Café, his challenge is to create a cuisine that reflects a diverse population: there are over 500 federally recognised tribes in the US. Their history is one of resilience in the face of persecution; a persecution that many see continuing in the protests at Standing Rock over the Dakota Access Pipeline. Brian Yazzie is chef de cuisine at The Sioux Chef, a catering and consulting firm set up by the Oglala Lakota chef Sean Sherman; before Thanksgiving Yazzie worked in the makeshift kitchens at the protest camp. He told National Public Radio that just being at the camp and seeing the kitchens was difficult.
Tales of the West: Storytelling Chefs
by Ellise Pierce (Cowboys & Indians, The Premier Magazine of the West)
If food is narrative, chefs are storytellers. In kitchens all over the West, chefs are making a difference in how we eat by telling their stories through what’s presented on the plate. C&I talked with three chefs whose food — and tales — we particularly love. James Beard Foundation Award-winning chef Hugo Ortega connects with his family and Mexican roots; Laura Colecelebrates the rich bounty of the Last Frontier; and Brian Yazzie keeps the foodways of his and other indigenous cultures alive.
Interested in Native Cuisine? Check out these Native cuisine recipes from Native chefs
by Andi Murphy (IndianCountryMediaNetwork.com)
Chef Yazzie, chef de cuisine from The Sioux Chef, told me this was one of his go-to dishes. No wonder. It’s such a delicious dish that mixes ingredients from the Midwest and Southwest. It’s also simple and easy to make. Folks from the Midwest will be familiar with the wonders of maple syrup on everything, but here in the Southwest, salmon with maple syrup was questionable, until I tried it. The two go so well together, the first bite surprised me.
Meet the Navajo Chef Cooking Indigenous Cuisine at Standing Rock
by Ocean Malandra (munchies.vice.com)
We caught up with one of the head cooks behind the Standing Rock Thanksgiving dinner, Brian Yazzie (aka Yazzie the Cook), who went to Standing Rock along with his girlfriend Danielle Polk and RN Care Manager Paula Hill of the Little Traverse Bay bands of Odawa Indians to cook up a feast of indigenous food. A Native Navajo from Arizona who is now based in Minneapolis, Yazzie is the Chef de Cuisine for the indigenous food phenomenon known as The Sioux Chef.
The Table Underground, Episode 2 - The Sioux Chef
Ep.2 Navajo Chef Brian Yazzie, talks about revitalizing indigenous food ways, his work with The Sioux Chef, a culinary company in Minneapolis focused on indigenous food and food systems. Brian talks about his work securing enormous food donations and his experience spending Thanksgiving week cooking at Standing Rock; Fry bread: when colonized food becomes heritage food, and the importance of indigenous people leading in kitchens and beyond.
Chef Profile: Brian Yazzie
by Dan (Food-Sovereignty.com)
As the Chef de Cuisine at The Sioux Chef, he enjoys collaborating with other cooks and chefs on Indigenous food projects. Chef Yazzie aspires to explore old and new delectable Indigenous cuisine creations and to educate all populations on the health benefits and possibilities of an Indigenous diet. Brian has previously partnered with the Intertribal Agriculture Council on Great Lakes Intertribal Food Summits at Gun Lake Pottawatomi and Red Lake, as well as the Taste of Madison.
A Navajo Chef Gives A Glimpse Inside The Makeshift Kitchens At Standing Rock
by Maria Godoy (NPR - National Public Radio, MPR News)
Brian Yazzie, Chef de Cuisine with The Sioux Chef out of Minneapolis, arrived on Wednesday November 23 with his partner, Danielle Polk, and a 20 foot long U-Haul truck full of $40,000 worth of donations from organizations like the Organic Consumers Association, and gathered through a food drive at the First Universalist Church.
Feeding a Movement: The Kitchens of the Standing Rock Camps
by Elizabeth Hoover (gardenwarriorgoodseeds.com
Brian Yazzie, Chef de Cuisine with The Sioux Chef out of Minneapolis, arrived on Wednesday November 23 with his partner, Danielle Polk, and a 20 foot long U-Haul truck full of $40,000 worth of donations from organizations like the Organic Consumers Association, and gathered through a food drive at the First Universalist Church.
Minneapolis chef Brian Yazzie is cooking for protesters at Standing Rock
by Mecca Box (www.citypages.com)
When the lead cook was out, Yazzie was given the task of leading the kitchen thanks to his credentials with the Sioux Chef. He managed to make a blue hominy and bison soup using tribal-donated bison meat, as well as a vegan soup with three beans and ramps, and a side of roasted pumpkin with quinoa, sunflower seed, and maple, plus some tribal donated wild rice.
This chef is cooking Native American Thanksgiving meals for everyone at Standing Rock
by Allison Herrera (www.pri.org)
But Yazzie isn't cooking just any menu. For five days, he'll prepare three meals a day for those protesting a 4,000-mile pipeline that they claim crosses over sacred land and jeopardizes their water supply. That's breakfast, lunch and dinner for 3,000-4,000 folks. The cooking begins Wednesday, and continues of course through the Thanksgiving holiday. You might think that means mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, right? Think again. For a holiday that many Native people feel misrepresents them and spins a rosy tale of colonization, Yazzie has something else planned.
Q&A with Yazzie the Cook, Diné chef
Profile by The American Indian Cancer Foundation
As part of our Healthy Native Foods Initiative to promote traditional foods and healthy eating for cancer prevention and overall health, AICAF is proud to support an aspiring Native chef. Brian Yazzie (Yazzie the Cook) is a Diné chef who prepares what he describes as “real American Cuisine” – healthy indigenous foods with natural ingredients. We sat down with Brian to learn more about his healthy cooking.
Q&A with Yazzie the Cook, Diné chef
Native American Calling Podcast/Radio Network
Frybread is so ubiquitous it’s become a symbol of Native cuisine. These greasy treats show up at festivities, gatherings, fundraisers and holiday events. But there’s another way of looking at it: frybread ingredients come not from tradition, but from the reservation rations and commodity goods provided by the federal government. Chef Brian Yazzie shares his unique perspective on frybread, indigenous health, and docolonizing food.
E7: Brian Yazzie - "Constantly Working"
Toasted Sister Podcast
When you love something, it consumes you. When asked what he does outside of the kitchen, Brian Yazzie (Diné), chef de cuisine at The Sioux Chef, said he’s thinking about being the kitchen. In this episode, Brian talks about becoming a chef, decolonizing his cooking and what’s next for him and The Sioux Chef crew.
#11 Brian Yazzie - Indigenous Foods Revitalized - The Sioux Chef
Talking Chefs Podcast
Brian and I talked about some of the ingredients and techniques they use at The Sioux Chef including a recipe for Cedar and Maple tea. Brian’s passion for revitalizing indigenous foods has also lead him to the Standing Rock camp where he has been volunteering his time cooking for the protestors who are fighting for their indigenous rights.