EATSS

Chef Crystal Wahpepah

Chef Crystal (Kickapoo Nation of Oklahoma) is the Owner and Executive Chef of Wahpepah’s Kitchen in Oakland, CA. Crystal understands the deep and powerful role that food has in our lives and uses it as a bridge to connect others with Native issues that are important to her and Wahpepah’s Kitchen. By acknowledging the Indigenous inhabitants of the land upon which we currently live, acknowledge and reclaim Native food ways. Through this connection, Crystal is then able to educate others on the health
benefits of Indigenous foods through the knowledge that has been passed to her. Crystal has been inducted to the Native American Almanac for her work.

Crystal has appeared on Food Network’s TV show Chopped and was a James Beard Award finalist for Emerging Chef in 2022. Crystal also opened the first Native woman owned restaurant in Northern California. Wahpepah’s Kitchen was the best new restaurant of the Bay Area in 2022. Crystal also cooked for the White House Hunger Conference with the James Beard Foundation as well as the Academy of Motion Picture of Arts and Sciences Watch the horizon closely for what’s next for Chef Crystal Wahpepah of Wahpepah’s Kitchen.

Chef Claire WesTcott

Chef Claire (Ute & Diné) Claire was born and raised in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado where, as a kid, she developed an interest in foraging and gathering of wild foods. Her passion for cooking led her to obtain a degree in Culinary Arts, Restaurant Management, and Entrepreneurship from Johnson & Wales University. Claire has spent the last decade honing her craft in some of Denver’s great dining establishments including Comal, Safta, and the former Acorn. In addition to her work as a chef, Claire has made contributions to Denver’s community in helping create food access programs and by empowering culinary entrepreneurs through social enterprise programs. Claire specializes in wood-fired cooking and celebrates her Afro-Indigenous heritage through food.

CHEF ANDREA MURDOCH

Chef Andrea (Andean Native; Caracas, Venezuela) is the owner of Four Directions Cuisine, which is founded on four main pillars: sourcing locally, sourcing Indigenously, education and community work. Murdoch is using food to trace her own culture while educating the public about the expansive world of Indigenous food systems. After being classically trained as a pastry chef at The Culinary Institute of America, Murdoch started exploring Indigenous flavors and origins which she shares through cultural conversations in the form of food.

CHEF BRADLEY DRY

Chef Bradley (Cherokee) has been a professional chef for twelve years, cooking traditional Cherokee dishes from healthy, local ingredients. Growing up in Oklahoma and based in Tulsa, his family inspired him to cook, as it was their tradition to cook together with everyone helping, under the guidance of his grandmother – which is where he learned most of what he knows about navigating a kitchen! Bradley’s goal is to bring happiness and community to those who enjoy his heartfelt food – and he specializes in traveling to prepare food for special events and people, including PowWows, Folklorama and the cast and crew of Reservation Dogs. Ultimately Bradley hopes to one day own his own restaurant, which he will name Elisi, the Cherokee word for grandmother.

Chef Crystal Wahpepah

Chef Crystal (Kickapoo Nation of Oklahoma) is the Owner and Executive Chef of Wahpepah’s Kitchen in Oakland, CA. Crystal understands the deep and powerful role that food has in our lives and uses it as a bridge to connect others with Native issues that are important to her and Wahpepah’s Kitchen.

By acknowledging the Indigenous inhabitants of the land upon which we currently live, acknowledge and reclaim Native food ways. Through this connection, Crystal is then able to educate others on the health
benefits of Indigenous foods through the knowledge that has been passed to her. Crystal has been inducted to the Native American Almanac for her work. Crystal has appeared on Food Network’s TV show Chopped and was a James Beard Award finalist for Emerging Chef in 2022. Crystal also opened the first Native woman owned restaurant in Northern California. Wahpepah’s Kitchen was the best new restaurant of the Bay Area in 2022. Crystal also cooked for the White House Hunger Conference with the James Beard Foundation as well as the Academy of Motion Picture of Arts and Sciences Watch the horizon closely for what’s next for Chef Crystal Wahpepah of Wahpepah’s Kitchen.

Chef Claire WesTcott

Chef Claire (Ute & Diné) Claire was born and raised in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado where, as a kid, she developed an interest in foraging and gathering of wild foods. Her passion for cooking led her to obtain a degree in Culinary Arts, Restaurant Management, and Entrepreneurship from Johnson & Wales University. Claire has spent the last decade honing her craft in some of Denver’s great dining establishments including Comal, Safta, and the former Acorn. In addition to her work as a chef, Claire has made contributions to Denver’s community in helping create food access programs and by empowering culinary entrepreneurs through social enterprise programs. Claire specializes in wood-fired cooking and celebrates her Afro-Indigenous heritage through food.

CHEF ANDREA MURDOCH

Chef Andrea (Andean Native; Caracas, Venezuela) is the owner of Four Directions Cuisine, which is founded on four main pillars: sourcing locally, sourcing Indigenously, education and community work. Murdoch is using food to trace her own culture while educating the public about the expansive world of Indigenous food systems. After being classically trained as a pastry chef at The Culinary Institute of America, Murdoch started exploring Indigenous flavors and origins which she shares through cultural conversations in the form of food.

CHEF BRADLEY DRY

Chef Bradley (Cherokee) has been a professional chef for twelve years, cooking traditional Cherokee dishes from healthy, local ingredients. Growing up in Oklahoma and based in Tulsa, his family inspired him to cook, as it was their tradition to cook together with everyone helping, under the guidance of his grandmother – which is where he learned most of what he knows about navigating a kitchen! Bradley’s goal is to bring happiness and community to those who enjoy his heartfelt food – and he specializes in traveling to prepare food for special events and people, including PowWows, Folklorama and the cast and crew of Reservation Dogs. Ultimately Bradley hopes to one day own his own restaurant, which he will name Elisi, the Cherokee word for grandmother.

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