NEW MEXICO (KRQE) — Locals may want to tune into Food Network on Tuesday evening, as two New Mexico chefs are set to premiere on a “Chopped” episode all about Indigenous food and culture.
Annual Earth Day New Mexico Festival kicks off in Albuquerque on April 26
Justin Pioche and Raymond Naranjo are both looking forward to representing New Mexico and the Native community on the big screen. Here’s a closer look at those two Indigenous contestants from the Land of Enchantment.
Justin Pioche (Navajo Nation)
“This is the first time that Indigenous peoples have been represented on that platform. It’s a great honor to be there. We’re pretty happy and excited to see the outcome.“
Justin Pioche of the Navajo Nation runs the Pioche food group out of Fruitland, New Mexico, with his mom and sister. They primarily do catering, alongside private dining inside the homes of locals. The experience is called “LorAmy,” where they highlight Navajo food in a modern upscale setting through a multi-course meal. Pioche’s interest in cooking first began out of necessity. “So at the beginning, it started off with me just trying to feed my brother and sister when I was younger because my mom and dad both worked. And so they’d get hungry and I’d need to feed them and myself as well,” said Pioche.
During high school, he started to take an interest in culinary arts. He ended up finding Arizona Culinary Institute in Scottsdale, and “the rest is basically history.” Cut to today, and he says the overall culinary journey to “Chopped” has been pretty surreal…