Potawatomi and Mexican-American Chef Stephanie “Pyet” Despain won the “Next Level Chef” competition on Wednesday night’s season finale on FOX television. The 30-year-old private chef is a tribal citizen of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.
Pyet, who specializes in Indigenous fusion food that melds both sides of her background, earned the grand prize of $250,000 and a yearlong mentorship with celebrity chef hosts Gordon Ramsay, Nyesha Arrington, and Richard Blais.
Native News Online editor Levi Rickert interviewed Pyet live on Native News Online’s Facebook page on Friday, March 4 at 12 noon – EST.
Her appearance on the show helped shine a light on Indigenous cuisine and provided a boost to Despain’s e-commerce business, where she sells products that play key roles in her brand of Indigenous fusion cuisine. That includes Wojapi, a traditional Native American berry sauce, which she used in winning the show’s burger challenge.