Via Podcast

Taste the stories, history, and energy behind modern Native American cuisine with Chef Crystal Wahpepah. A member of the Kickapoo Tribe and key player in the recent resurgence of Indigenous food, Wahpepah became the first Native woman to own a restaurant in Northern California when she opened Wahpepah’s Kitchen in Oakland in 2021. Her debut cookbook, A Feather and a Fork, came out in 2026.

In this episode, Wahpepah details her journey from growing up foraging with her grandfather in Oklahoma to becoming the first Native chef on the Food Network show Chopped. Her own journey reveals the complex and emotional connections between Native cultures and foods, which heal communities, preserve ancestral ways, and express a deep love for the land. In one segment, she recalls the powerful moment when a man at her restaurant openly wept after eating blue corn, which he hadn’t tasted since leaving his reservation decades prior. Wahpepah also shares some of her favorite Native dishes and where to try them.

Indigenous restaurants mentioned include:

• Wahpepah’s Kitchen, Oakland, California
• Café Gozhóó, Whiteriver, Arizona
• Javelina, Portland, Oregon
• Tocabe, Denver, Colorado
• 39 Restaurant, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Guest

Chef Crystal Wahpepah, a Kickapoo Tribe member, is a leading advocate for Indigenous food sovereignty. She gained acclaim as the creative force behind Wahpepah’s Kitchen in Oakland, California, the first Native woman–owned restaurant in Northern California. Her culinary work connects diners to vital Native issues and ancestral foodways, and educates the public about the health benefits of traditional Indigenous ingredients. Her debut cookbook, A Feather and a Fork: 125 Intertribal Dishes from an Indigenous Food Warrior, was released in March 2026.

Beyond her restaurant, Crystal has been recognized for her advocacy, including induction into the Native American Almanac and appearances on Food Network programs such as Chopped. She has cooked for the White House Hunger Conference with the James Beard Foundation and for the Academy of Motion Picture of Arts and Sciences and has served as chef-in-residence for the Rou Dalagurr Food Sovereignty Lab at Cal Poly Humboldt. She is the new consulting chef at 39 Restaurant at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City.