Kemah dining experience seeks to preserve Indigenous food from North and South America – Houston Public Media

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Mincho Jacob

Chef David Skinner holds a snake gourd in his kitchen garden.

60% of the world's diet today is derived from foods indigenous to the Americas. We're talking potatoes, sweet potatoes, peppers, chilies, tomatoes, corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, peanuts, wild rice, pineapple, avocado, papaya, pecans, strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, sunflowers, and chocolate due to the innovation and perseverance of Indigenous farmers and seed keepers.

What's Houston's connection to this? Well, more than 150 Native American groups reside in the Houston metro area and many of them continue the act of cultivation here in Houston in their every day lives. One community member stand outs for his efforts, that's Choctaw Chef David Skinner who's been delighting diners in Kemah for over a decade.

Choctaw chef David Skinner grew up eating many of these foods straight from his grandmother's garden. He's now showcasing Indigenous tradition and innovation in his new Kemah restaurant, Ishtia – which features modern takes on Indigenous food from North and South America. Skinner also co-owns th_prsrv (The Preserve) with James Beard Award-winning chef Benchawan Jabthong Painter.

In the audio above, Houston Matters producer Mincho Jacob visits a local garden tended by a Maya Q’eqchi’ family, and then heads down to the Kemah Boardwalk to chat with chef Skinner talk about his reflections on displacement and recovering the foodways of Indigenous communities.

<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-496247" src="https://theamericannews.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1723235177_149_Kemah-dining-experience-seeks-to-preserve-Indigenous-food-from-North.jpg" alt="American Black nightshade plant" width="750" height="1000" srcset="https://theamericannews.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1723235177_149_Kemah-dining-experience-seeks-to-preserve-Indigenous-food-from-North.jpg 750w, https://cdn.houstonpublicmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/09150751/IMG_8936-1125x1500.jpg 1125w, https://cdn.houstonpublicmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/09150751/IMG_8936-338x450.jpg 338w, https://cdn.houstonpublicmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/09150751/IMG_8936-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.houstonpublicmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/09150751/IMG_8936-1536x2048.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px" data-eio="p"/> Mincho Jacob

The plant known as ichaj in Q’eqchi’, or in English as American Black Nightshade, is a staple food crop of the Maya Q’eqchi’ and can be found growing wild in the Houston area. [ad_1]

Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=66b67b62df8542e99f97cba8a87f2fbd&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.houstonpublicmedia.org%2Farticles%2Fshows%2Fhouston-matters%2F2024%2F08%2F09%2F496229%2Fkemah-dining-experience-seeks-to-preserve-indigenous-food-from-north-and-south-america%2F&c=6510469399300474506&mkt=en-us Author : Publish date : 2024-08-09 09:17:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source .

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Kemah dining experience seeks to preserve Indigenous food from North and South America – Houston Public Media

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