What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1464785
The dishes created by Chef Nico and Burning Cedar Indigenous Foods "range from ancestral recipes passed down through generations, to contemporary, original recipes." "In our home when I was growing up, we ate dinner together as a family, around the dinner table, every single night," Albert reflects. "My mom or dad made all of our meals from scratch, and if I wasn't actively helping, I was still close to the kitchen absorbing that food knowledge by osmosis! I didn't realize until I was older how special that was and that not all families got to have that experience, because it was all I knew." (Courtesy Photos) In addition to catering, Burning Cedar Indigenous Foods offers consulting services to provide information about tribal food sovereignty, conservation, and Indigenous food traditions. Albert says it is Burning Cedar's "priority to use local, seasonal, tribally sourced and sustainable ingredients in every way possible." "At the very beginning of this year, I expanded the work of Burning Cedar LLC into the nonprofit sector by founding Burning Cedar Sovereign Kitchen Inc. to address socioeconomic disparities, health crises and cultural disconnection affecting Indigenous communities in Tulsa," says Albert. APRIL 17-23, 2022 WHAT'S UP! 9 years, just through my being known in the community as a Cherokee chef who had knowledge of those foods and the professional skills to cater," she explains. "The food sovereignty movement was also growing, and more and more community groups wanted to learn about traditional ingredients, how to prepare them and how they can help us heal, so that led to me doing different events to share knowledge with folks interested in those ideas — all of this in my 'spare' time while also working the crazy schedule of an executive chef! "When covid hit in 2020, of course Duet had to close during quarantine, and when they attempted to reopen that June, they were not able to bring me back on," she continues. "At first this was a huge blow, but after that initial shock, I saw it as a rare opportunity to take the big leap and try to make my passion for Indigenous food my full-time job." The result is Burning Cedar Indigenous Foods, which started as "a lot of virtual work sharing recipes and teaching about Native foodways in videos and Zoom meetings" and has turned into "catering large and small events, consulting on menus to incorporate Indigenous ingredients and highlight traditional and modern Native dishes in cafes and restaurants, and traveling to teach workshops and share meals." On April 22, Albert will create the first of four quarterly Prairie To Table Dinners at Bentonville's Museum of Native American History. She says it will be a meal "that will create a connection to time and place for our guests." "In any meal I create, I want to tell a story that my guests will carry with them in memory long after the meal is over, maybe even change the way people see the world around them," she enthuses. "The dishes we will be serving will highlight seasonal foraged ingredients that just sing the fresh green flavors of spring, cleansing and renewal. I will also be providing context for these dishes from a cultural perspective by sharing stories that will give guests a deeper understanding of the significance of the ingredients themselves and the way Indigenous dishes are prepared." "MONAH has hosted dinner gatherings before, and on the top of our wish list has always been to create quarterly experiences with Indigenous chefs," says Charlotte Buchanan-Yale, the museum's director. "MONAH is a place of conversation to share ideas while raising awareness about the diversity of Indigenous cultures. What better way to bring people together and create a shared human experience than with the combination of beautiful food, music, and educational resources?" FAQ Prairie To Table Dinner WHEN — 6 p.m. April 22 WHERE — Museum of Native American History in Benton- ville COST — $60; this event is sold out INFO — monah.us FYI — MONAH plans quarterly Prairie To Table Dinners in 2022. The next event will be in July.