Indigenizing Our Diet: Indigenous Chefs Speak

Rich Francis is literally on fire in the indigenous culinary world. The chef/owner of The Seventh Fire Hospitality Group has won honors for his approach to native foods and Indigenous ingredients that revitalize food and culture. Chef Francis is the co-producer for a new ground-breaking documentary called Red Chef Revival, a unique travel and food series that will follow Chef Francis on a cross-country journey to redefine Indigenous cuisine, create a better understanding of pre-colonial Indigenous food systems, and address truth and reconciliation through Indigenous foods and the impact of colonization. His restaurant, a first of its kind destination, The Seventh Fire, opened in 2018, just in time for the launch of his first cookbook, Closing the Gap; Truth and Reconciliation Through Indigenous Foods.

Santos Canel is a Kaqchiquel Maya native of Guatemala. He has 20 years’ experience in the restaurant industry and as a culinary instructor and investigator in the Maya communities around Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. He designed and implemented the first culinary certificate program on Lake Atitlan, and has had the privilege of researching and compiling La Ruta del Sabor, the first book of recipes from the Maya villages of Atitlan. In addition, through the training workshops he has led in the Maya communities, he has had the privilege of getting to know first-hand the rich culinary abundance of Indigenous Guatemala. He is a strong proponent of reintroducing indigenous foods into the modern Mayan diet for the tremendous nutritional benefits that many of the Native Mayanative foods provide. He has had several of his own restaurants, the most recent of which is Café La Puerta, where he is able to explore Guatemala’s culinary traditions and fuse them with other international cuisines.

Chef Hernández de la Rosa was born on June 12, 1980, in the Yokot’an-Maya town of Nacajuca, Tabasco Mexico. The objectives of Chef Atilano Hernández de la Rosa and the Yokok’ux Ancestral Flavor restaurant are rescuing Indigenous gastronomy, preserving the Yokot’an-Maya Indigenous language, and bringing Yokot’an-Maya culture and traditions to the world. Culinaria Mexicana, the gastronomic portal of Mexico, has selected the Yokok’ux Ancestral Flavor restaurant as one of the five restaurants that highlight Indigenous cuisine in Mexico.

Chef McLeod’s professional background began in the hospitality industry, qualifying as a professional Chef in 1978. In 2000, Chef McLeod created a company to research the national indigenous Māori food culture and promote it as an iconic treasure and craft unique to New Zealand. His work is focused around the protection, teaching and remodeling of the national tribal culinary practices of the Ngai Tuhoe, where primary culinary resources are still available to our people, and sharing this knowledge with tribal members, other Maori, New Zealanders, and the world.

Chef Kapiri is from Lae, Morose Province, Papua New Guinea. She received a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Environmental Science and Geography from the University of Papua New Guinea in 2018.

Chef Lebo Phala established her own Indigenous culinary company, HL Culinary Experience, after she received her Diploma In Food Preparation and Cooking at Capsicum Culinary Studio. She is not only about culinary experiences, but also a professional photographer, videographer, and a visionary, who is passionate about women empowerment and promoting African heritage and culture. Chef Lebo has co-authored a book on traditional South African food, which is considered one of the best-sellers in its category. Chef Lebo has appeared on many national radio shows in South Africa. Her love for traditional food has influenced many event organizers to partner with her and, in the process, has enabled her to follow her passion of promoting healthy eating and the celebration of African heritage. Chef Lebo is inspiring many other women and is on a mission to elevate African traditional food to a different level.

Originally from Homer, Nikki Graham “Aga’Askaa” is a lifelong Alaska of Yup’ik, Blackfoot Indian and Dutch descent. She is a Cook Inlet Region Incorporated (CIRI) shareholder and an enrolled member of the Ninilchik Village Tribe. Nikki earned an associate degree in Culinary Arts from Le Cordon Bleu in Los Angeles, California and is completing her Master of Business Administration from Alaska Pacific University (APU). Nikki is a champion of transformational change and an advocate for Alaska Native and Indigenous peoples. She enjoys fostering the creation and implementation of innovative approaches to values-based operations management and development needed to advance organizational mission.

Chef Mhlelusizo Ncube has twelve years of culinary experience with such renowned hotels and and lodges as the Victoria Falls Safari Lodges, Asara Wine Estate & Hotel, Singita Pamushana, all in Zimbabwe, and with Singita Lodges in South Africa, among others. She has a strong passion for Indigenous African foods with the use of moringa (Moringa oleifera) currently in her dishes. She is a strong advocate for rural tourism.

Sijabuliso Dube, an Indigenous Culinary Arts Student, was born was born May 24, 1992. She is a mother of two and a teacher by profession. She has a long-standing interest in food, especially Indigenous foods. She began cooking at a very young age at home and fell in love with it. In 2022 she enrolled with Chef Mhlelusizo Ncube at Stir up Chefs in Zimbabwe. Ms Dube is currently studying cooking and baking to sharpen her culinary skills and gain more knowledge from Chef Mhlelusizo Ncube about food as a whole.