3 Takeaways:

• Community seniors, members and invited staff got a chance to taste chef Pyet DeSpain’s curated menu as she hosted a cooking demonstration inside the Showroom at Casino Arizona. 
• The event was a collaboration between the Strong Heart Study, SRPMIC Senior Services, Casino Arizona, the SRPMIC Tribal Library and Native Lifeway.
• At the conclusion of the cooking demonstration, attendees were provided with autographed copies of DeSpain’s new cookbook, Rooted in Fire. 

Though she serves on a different kind of plate, chef Pyet DeSpain truly is in a league of her own. 

On March 25, DeSpain hosted a cooking demonstration inside the Showroom at Casino Arizona for special guests that included Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community members and elders and Community department staff members. The event was designed to celebrate Native American cooking and the release of DeSpain’s new cookbook, Rooted in Fire. 

“It’s a cookbook, but it’s so much more than that,” said DeSpain as she prepared her materials for the cooking demonstration. 

The book contains Indigenous and Mexican dishes while also sharing DeSpain’s personal histories and stories. DeSpain is an enrolled member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation with Sac and Fox ties. Her father is Mexican-American, and she grew up on the Osage Nation in Oklahoma, although she is not Osage. 

A self-described “city Native,” DeSpain grew up in Kansas as well as neighboring Oklahoma. The name “Pyet” is short for Pyetwetmokwe. 

“My name translates to ‘something loud coming over the mountains and the sky towards you’. That name was given to me by my great-grandmother, Cecilia Mitchell. I think that name fits me well,” she said. 

DeSpain has worked tirelessly to become a renowned chef. She won Season 1 of the reality cooking television competition “Next Level Chef” and received support, mentoring and backing from the competition’s organizers. “I would do it all over again,” she said. 

She’s also traveled to London to participate in other cooking competitions and demonstrations. 

Locally, chef DeSpain was brought to the SRPMIC thanks to the Strong Heart Study staff and SRPMIC member Samantha Ishak. The Strong Heart Study is a study of heart disease and its risk factors among American Indian men and women.

“We met at a conference, and we just got to talking,” said Ishak. The two became fast friends, and Ishak invited DeSpain to visit and tour the SRPMIC. 

DeSpain’s visit to Arizona marked the first time she has visited the SRPMIC as well as the first time she visited an Arizona tribe. She already mentioned returning to the Community soon. 

“I’ve been here for two days, but it seems like I’ve been here for two weeks! I really love it here,” said DeSpain. 

When it came time to cook, DeSpain showed why she’s a rising chef in today’s culinary world. She curated an exclusive menu which featured poblano and corn tamales, braised beef Colorado, salsa verde, three sisters salad and a bistro blend apple salad. 

The braised beef Colorado is her grandmother’s recipe that was handed down to her. 

Guests enjoyed seconds (and thirds, to the unseen eye) as DeSpain demonstrated her process when making her poblano and corn tamales from scratch. 

As she was presenting, DeSpain showcased her witty sense of humor to the crowd. “Before we get going, let’s remember one thing. Keep your cast-iron pan moisturized, just like your elbows,” she said with a cheeky grin. 

Following the demonstration, DeSpain posed for photos with guests and spent moments with everyone who asked for photo with her. 

After the event, DeSpain stayed for a few more days in the SRPMIC, visiting with additional elders and spending time in the Community Garden. Also, during her visit, she made sure to stop at one of the most legendary food vendors in the Community, the Stand. 

After her visit here, DeSpain returned to her home in Los Angeles to prepare for a joyous celebration, her upcoming wedding to Lumbee hoop dancer Eric Hernandez. 

“I will be Chef DeSpain-Hernandez soon,” she said with a smile. 

Aside from her wedding, DeSpain will also be embarking on another big occasion: finishing the plans for her own brick-and-mortar restaurant. 

“That’s what I want to do; that’s one of my biggest goals I have,” she said. 

Whether it’s finalizing plans to create her own cooking show, writing another cookbook, planning her wedding or opening her own restaurant, it is more than apparent that Indian Country fully supports chef Pyet DeSpain, especially now the SRPMIC.