Fire, Passion, and Heritage: Native American and Mexican Cooking with Chef Pyet DeSpain

Prepare your palate for a vibrant culinary journey with star chef Pyet DeSpain, the inaugural winner of Gordon Ramsay’s hit television competition Next Level Chef, as she presents her debut cookbook, Rooted in Fire: A Celebration of Native American and Mexican Cooking.

Pyet DeSpain rose to prominence as the first winner of Gordon Ramsey’s Fox television show Next Level Chef. Now, in her debut cookbook, she shares the joy of cooking fueled by her burning passion for Native American and Mexican American cuisine.

Pyet shows you how to incorporate a delicious range of key ingredients—from venison, dandelion greens, to sunchokes, bison, and native berries—into more than sixty fusion dishes. Family and friends will be excited to gather around the table to enjoy sweet and savory food such as:

- Three Sisters Salad

- Bison and Sweet Corn Soup

- Fry Bread

- Mexican Chocolate & Mezcal Cake

- Corn Silk and Honey Tea

- Wojapi BBQ Sauce

Rooted in Fire is far more than just a collection of recipes; it is a movement giving voice to Indigenous culture, histories, and foodways through the universal language of food.

Register for this event today and learn how to work with nature in your own kitchen.

About the Author:

Pyet—short for her inherited Native American name, Pyetwetmokwe—is a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation and an award-winning global private chef. She made history as the first winner of Gordon Ramsay’s Next Level Chef and was named one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top 25 Private Chefs in Los Angeles. Her work is centered on uplifting Indigenous foodways within the culinary industry while advocating for a more sustainable and sovereign food system for Indigenous peoples.

This event takes place online. Register or submit questions to the author on the Waunakee Library Speakers Consortium portal.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Waunakee Public Library