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Brian Yazzie

Brian Yazzie, known as Yazzie the Chef is a Navajo chef. He celebrates and promotes Indigenous American foods.

He was born in the Navajo Nation in Dennehotso, Arizona.[1] He moved to Minnesota in 2013.[2]

In 2014, he became the chef de cuisine at Sean Sherman's the Sioux Chef.[3]

In 2016, Yazzie and his wife Danielle Yazzie-Polk founded Intertribal Foodways, a catering company in St. Paul.[1] The company prepares Indigenous meals and leads demonstrations for Native American communities.[3] In 2020, he started working at Gatherings Cafe, but it shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.[1][4]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he partnered with the Minneapolis American Indian Center to prepare hundreds of meals for elderly people and delivering them for free.[5][4]

Yazzie is a member of I-Collective, a group of indigenous chefs, farmers, foragers, hunters, and food historians.[6] He is also involved with Slow Food and was a delegate to Terra Madre Salone del Gusto in Turin, Italy and to Indigenous Terra Madre in Japan.[6]

PBS's Independent Lens made an episode of their series of shorts "alter-NATIVE: Kitchen" about Yazzie.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Chuculate, Eddie (6 October 2020). "Gatherings Cafe gets new executive chef and a makeover". Retrieved 2021-02-07.
  2. ^ "'Food is medicine': Native chefs feeding MN elders". MPR News. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
  3. ^ a b Tormoen, Erik (2020-05-22). "Brian Yazzie Stands Up for Native American Recipes". Minnesota Monthly. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
  4. ^ a b "Gatherings Cafe puts Indigenous foods at the forefront". kare11.com. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
  5. ^ "This Chef Is Feeding The Elderly And At-Risk In Indian Country During". UPROXX. 2020-03-31. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
  6. ^ a b "Slow Food Leaders: Brian Yazzie • Slow Food USA". Slow Food USA. 2019-12-11. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
  7. ^ "Independent Lens: What Native Elders Think About Indigenous Cooking". Independent Lens. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 2021-02-07.