Roosevelt Culinary Arts

Indigenous Cuisine with Chef Brian Yazzie for the RHS Farm and Food Summit

Roosevelt High School recently held its first ever Farm and Food Summit. Both the Urban Farming and Culinary Arts Programs helped to organize the event.

The Summit began with a panel discussion on Food Justice in Education. Then there were workshops led by community experts related to all elements of the food system. After lunch, the Summit culminated in the dedication of a school/community garden that will feature Indigenous vegetables such as the three sisters (corn, beans, and squash).

Roosevelt Culinary Arts was honored to have Chef Brian Yazzie, along with Chef Peter Vang, leading us in creating and cooking lunch for the entire Summit. He taught us about Indigenous cooking traditions and methods. For example, the blue corn mush, featured as a corn-fruit parfait on the menu, is an important food to the Diné people of the Southwest. It is the first food they eat as young children, and then the last food they eat when they grow old and can’t process other foods.

Chef Yazzie and Vang also guided us in preparing meatballs with turkey, wild rice, and squash (as well as a meatless option that featured blended wild rice). To go with both the meatballs and blue corn parfaits, Chef Yazzie showed us how to make a traditional Dakota sauce called Wojapi with native berries. The students also prepared a Mexican tomatillo salsa and Somali bisbaas sauce with cilantro, chilis, and tamarind.

The Farm and Food Summit was a wonderful opportunity to come together around all aspects of our food, and we definitely learned a lot along the way. Many thanks to Chef Yazzie, Chef Vang, and all who contributed with their time and talents. For the next Summit, we hope to be serving Indigenous food harvested from the garden that will be planted this spring!