Register

Virtual Author Talk: Chef Pyet DeSpain

Explore the fire, passion and heritage of Native American and Mexican Cooking with the Next Level Chef winner and creator of Indigenous Fusion Cuisine.

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.

Thank you!

Thank you to Meijer for their support in bringing the cook book authors to our virtual author talk series.

If you have any questions about this program, including accommodations, please contact Amy at ftprograms@cc-pl.org. Please see all our program offerings in our online newsletter at cc-pl.org/connections.

Upcoming Events