Anthony Two Moons
Crystal Wahpepah believes in telling stories through her food. Now, the Oakland chef is sharing tales of Indigenous cuisine in her new cookbook, A Feather and a Fork: 125 Intertribal Dishes from an Indigenous Food Warrior. A member of the Kickapoo Nation in Oklahoma (among other tribes), Wahpepah has turned an early love of cooking into a barrier-breaking career, opening Wahpepah’s Kitchen—the first Native woman–owned restaurant in Northern California—in 2021. Named a finalist for Emerging Chef at the 2022 James Beard Awards, she also appeared on Chopped and Beat Bobby Flay. Most recently, she joined the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City as a consulting chef.
“I believe that you can tell a story on a plate [through] how you cook it, where you source ingredients, and how you plate it.”—Crystal WahpepahQ: What are some of your career highlights to date?
A: The James Beard Awards. They embraced who I am as a woman and as a Native chef. I didn’t see that one coming, but it was nice to be recognized, especially after the many years I’ve been doing this. Another highlight is that I am going to be breaking ground soon with my new restaurant, which is part of the Village SF. It’s a collaboration with Friendship House and different Native-led farms. I’m going to have a restaurant and also a teaching kitchen. It’s all of my visions in one.
Q: You have referred to food as medicine. Can you elaborate?
A: It’s how you approach food and where it comes from. If we eat in season, according to how Mother Nature moves, that’s where the medicine really comes from. … People come to Wahpepah’s Kitchen from all over, and they sit in solitude, look at the food, and have this beautiful connection with it before they eat. Food brings you home and inspires beautiful memories. To me, that is healing.
Q: What went into the development of your cookbook?
A: I started with recipes, but in looking at other cookbooks, what I really saw missing was a connection with the chefs. I wanted to take people on my journey as an Indigenous chef and share who I am as a mother, as a daughter, and how these recipes came about.
Q: What is at the root of your work?
A: My main mission is to get our foods recognized … to move with the times, embrace them, but also educate and nourish people in our community. … Our foods need to be visible for the next generation.
Q: What is your perfect day in the East Bay?
A: Going to the farmers markets. I love the Oakland community vibe. But when it comes to connecting with the land, I go to the redwoods. How fortunate we are to live here, especially in the East Bay.