Crystal Wahpepah

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Crystal Wahpepah
Ramsay in 2022
Born
EducationLe Cordon Bleu
StyleNative American cuisine

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 born and raised in Oakland, California.[1] She is a member of the Kickapoo, Sac, and Fox tribes from Oklahoma.[4] As a child, she cooked with her older relatives.[4]

Career[edit]

Wahpepah 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.[4] 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]

  1. ^ a b c d e Mindess, Anna. "Crystal Wahpepah is clearing a path for indigenous chefs." nosh. 2020-08-19
  2. ^ "For the Love of Native Foods: Chef Crystal Wahpepah". www.culturalsurvival.org. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
  3. ^ "Rare and highly anticipated Native American restaurant debuts in Oakland". The Mercury News. 2021-11-26. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
  4. ^ a b c Kickapoo chef honors her heritage with oakland's first indigenous restaurant (2021). Washington, D.C.: NPR. Retrieved on 2021-12-07.