Crystal Wahpepah, the Oakland chef whose restaurant Wahpepah’s Kitchen shines the spotlight on Indigenous cuisine, is now telling her story through her debut cookbook. A Feather and a Fork, co-written by Amy Paige Condon, hit the shelves on March 17.
Through recipes that shaped Wahpepah’s childhood and, later, her career as an award-winning chef, A Feather and a Fork brings readers along on her own journey as a pioneer in bringing Indigenous foods into the forefront. The book features 125 intertribal recipes that highlight Native producers, Indigenous ingredients and how to eat in tune with the seasons.
“I love to create with Indigenous ingredients. So that was the easy part,” Wahpepah said. “I love to cook, I’m a creator and that, but you know, writing is totally different.” She enlisted the help of Condon, an experienced cookbook writer and editor, to bring her vision to life. Tommy Orange, an Oakland native and author of the 2019 American Book Award-winning novel There There, wrote the foreword.
“He was born and raised here in Oakland, like myself, and we both grew up in the intertribal community. So, it was a no-brainer,” Wahpepah said…