A New Cookbook by Indigenous People, for Indigenous People
The New York Times
A group of Indigenous chefs is releasing a virtual cookbook featuring digital issues, webinars and videos to reclaim narratives about Native foods.
The chiltepin is a tiny, powerfully spicy chile that’s the genetic grandparent of nearly every chile varietal cultivated in the United States. It’s a living emblem of how Indigenous ingredients formed the bedrock of American foodways.
But the history of the chiltepin — and that of the Indigenous people in the Southwest who grow it — isn’t well documented in mainstream food media.
“A Gathering Basket,” a new cookbook, aims to do the work of telling the stories behind Indigenous foods like the chiltepin. There have been several cookbooks published about Indigenous foodways, but this one — helmed by the Indigenous chef organization I-Collective — stands apart for being written by Indigenous people for their community.
