Perhaps the real question is …why didn’t it happen sooner – and why aren’t MORE of us involved?
With chefs from America flocking to conferences such as Rene Redzepi’s MAD Symposium in Copenhagen, Gaston Acurio’s Mistura in Peru and Enrique Olvera’s Mesamerica in Mexico to explore the indigenous ingredients and traditions of these nations, the question has to be asked: Why is the same thing not happening in America, a nation with a rich indigenous culture of its own?
The answer is a complex and difficult one due to the connection it has to the disenfranchisement of Native Americans by non-native populations. The result has led to a seemingly insurmountable void that must be reconciled if chefs in America are to begin incorporating indigenous ingredients, techniques and traditions into their kitchen repertoires.
As Chef Nephi Craig stated on native foods & ancestral knowledge: “Where you come from – it’s beautiful. It’s all your own.”
The solution is not easy and demands a candid and frank conversation that will be painful and difficult on both sides. But it must take place in order to move forward on a path of reconciliation. Finding the courage to begin the dialogue will lead to the exchange of culinary and cultural wisdom collected by our native populations for millennia that has the potential to dramatically change the way we cook and see the world.
It will forge a deeper appreciation and understanding of the valiant struggle native chefs have undertaken for so many centuries to preserve a way of life under a constant barrage of assault. Steelite’s John Miles concluded by saying, “Bringing the essence of native culture to practical ideas that an end user can implement in their operation, is what will create lasting effects.”
Other presentations during Day # 1 included “The New Definition of Local: Why miles don’t matter as much as ethics do” led by Claus Henriksen & Soren Wiuff
The Roots Conference concludes with Day #2 today.
On the agenda today are:
More than a Pretty Picture: The role of imagery to affect change and move an agenda forward led by Evan Sung and Kristin Teig and The Present and the Past: How understanding history makes us wiser people and better chefs with Kyle Connaughton and Naoko Moore
