Indigenous chef Crystal Wahpepah releases first cookbook

Indigenous Chef Crystal Wahpepah released her first cookbook, “A Feather and a Fork: 125 Intertribal Dishes from an Indigenous Food Warrior,” on March 17, according to ICT. The book features more than 125 recipes and highlights seasonal cooking, foraging and connections to land and culture. Wahpepah, who is Kickapoo and Sac and Fox, said the project took five years to complete.

Wahpepah said she hopes readers understand where food comes from and its cultural significance. “I want to take other people on that journey where we are so well connected with our food,” she told ICT. The cookbook includes dishes such as blue cornbread, Three Sisters salad and bison recipes. A foreword by author Tommy Orange describes Wahpepah as a “tremendously talented, heart-and-soul-driven chef,” according to the report.