Sean Sherman

Last updated

Sean Sherman
Sean Sherman at the Tatanka Truck 2021-10-09.jpg
Sherman in 2021
Born1974 (age 49–50) [1]
Pine Ridge, South Dakota, U.S.
Education Black Hills State University
Culinary career
Cooking style Indigenous cuisine
Current restaurant(s)
Award(s) won
  • James Beard Foundation Awards:
    • Best American Cookbook, 2017
    • Leadership, 2019
    • Best New Restaurant, 2022
Website seansherman.com

Sean Sherman (born 1974) [1] is an Oglala Lakota Sioux chef, cookbook author, forager, and promoter of indigenous cuisine. [2] [3] Sherman founded the indigenous food education business and caterer The Sioux Chef and cofounded with then-partner Dana Thompson the nonprofit North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NĀTIFS). He received a James Beard Foundation Leadership Award and his 2017 cookbook, The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen , won the 2018 James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook. In 2022 the restaurant he co-owned with Thompson, Owamni, won the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant.

Contents

Early life

Sherman was born in 1974 and grew up on his grandparents' ranch on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. [4] : 1  [5] He hunted and foraged from an early age, recalling his grandfather giving him a shotgun on his seventh birthday. [4] : 77  [6] He grew up eating many government commodity foods [6] such as cereal, shortening, and canned hash, which he cites as the norm he seeks to depart from. [7] He attended Black Hills State University. [8] His grandparents were fluent in Lakota. [4] : 1 

Early career

Sherman got his first restaurant job washing dishes at 13, soon moving onto the line. [7] He spent a summer working for the US Forest Service in the Black Hills, identifying plants. [9] [10] He spent most of his twenties working in a series of Minneapolis restaurants [11] and by 27 was working as an executive chef. [12] By 29 he was burnt out and spent some time in Mexico regrouping; while in Puerto Vallarta he spent time with some Huichol people and had an "epiphany", saying: "After seeing how the Huicholes held onto so much of their pre-European culture through artwork and food, I recognized I wanted to know my own food heritage. What did my ancestors eat before the Europeans arrived on our lands?” [11]

Career

In 2014 Sherman founded indigenous food education business and caterer The Sioux Chef. The Washington Post called it "a homonym to another... culinary concept", [2] the sous-chef. In 2015, he and partner Dana Thompson launched Tatanka Truck, a food truck that offered such dishes as bison wild rice and teas made from cedar and maple. [13]

He founded the nonprofit North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NĀTIFS) in 2017 with Thompson. [6] [10]

In 2017 Sherman co-authored The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen , published by the University of Minnesota, [6] which won the 2018 James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook. [14] In order to create the book's recipes, he interviewed older community members and searched archives for descriptions of traditional Lakota foods. [5] Recipes in the book contain no dairy, wheat, beef, pork, or cane sugar, as these are non-indigenous ingredients, brought to North America by European colonizers. [5] [14] Sherman describes the recipes as "hyperlocal, ultraseasonal, uber-healthy [and] most of all, it's utterly delicious." [5] Publishers Weekly called the book, "an illuminating guide to Native American food that will enthrall home cooks and food historians alike." [15] That same year he prepared a six-course dinner at the James Beard House. [2]

In 2018 he participated in a National Museum of American History roundtable at the Food History weekend event. [5] During the event he prepared a traditional dish, Mag˘áksic˘a na Psíŋ Wasná, duck and wild rice pemmican. [5]

In 2019 Sherman received a James Beard Foundation Leadership Award, which recognizes people and organizations that "(work) to change our food world for the better." [16]

In 2021 he and Thompson opened a restaurant, Owamni, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, serving dishes using ingredients present in North America before European colonization. Owamni won the 2022 James Beard Foundation Award for Best New Restaurant. [17]

The New York Times called his style "colorful and elegant". [7]

Sherman was named to the TIME 100 Most Influential People of 2023 list. [18]

Philosophy

Sherman foraging wild ramps Sean Sherman of the Company The Sioux Chef foraging Wild Ramps.jpg
Sherman foraging wild ramps

Sherman abandoned the use of ingredients that are not endemic to North America [19] after having "an epiphany" while working at a restaurant in Mexico that used local ingredients [20] and realizing that the traditional foods of the Oglala were "completely unrepresented in American cuisine." [21] He objects to indigenous cuisine being called "the next big thing", saying, "This is not a trend. It's a way of life." [2] He told the James Beard Foundation, "We're not trying to cook like it's 1491. We're trying to take knowledge from the past and evolve it for today." [12]

Along with some other Native American chefs, [2] Sherman rejects frybread, often associated with "traditional" Native American cuisine, calling it "everything that isn't Native American food" [22] and writing that it represents "perseverance and pain, ingenuity and resilience." [4] : 9  While a symbol of resilience, [2] as it was developed out of necessity using government-provided flour, sugar, and lard, these chefs also consider it a symbol of colonial oppression, [2] as the ingredients were being provided because the government had moved the people onto land that could not support growing traditional staples like corn and beans. [23] [24] Frybread's significance to Native Americans has been described as complicated [23] and their relationship with it conflicted. [25]

Personal life

Sherman lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. [6] He has one son. [26] He and Thompson had a difficult romantic breakup shortly after Owamni opened; as of 2022 the two retain shared control of the business. [17]

Awards

Books

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Beard</span> American chef

James Andrews Beard was an American chef, cookbook author, teacher and television personality. He pioneered television cooking shows, taught at The James Beard Cooking School in New York City and Seaside, Oregon, and lectured widely. He emphasized American cooking, prepared with fresh, wholesome, American ingredients, to a country just becoming aware of its own culinary heritage. Beard taught and mentored generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. He published more than twenty books, and his memory is honored by his foundation's annual James Beard Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cookbook</span> Book of recipes with instructions

A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Waters</span> American chef, restaurateur, and author

Alice Louise Waters is an American chef, restaurateur, and author. In 1971, she opened Chez Panisse, a restaurant in Berkeley, California, famous for its role in creating the farm-to-table movement and for pioneering California cuisine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California cuisine</span> Food from California

California cuisine is a food movement that originated in Northern California. The cuisine focuses on dishes that are driven by local and sustainable ingredients with an attention to seasonality and an emphasis on the bounty of the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Keller</span> American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author

Thomas Aloysius Keller is an American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, The French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Foundation, notably the Best California Chef in 1996, and the Best Chef in America in 1997. The restaurant is a perennial winner in the annual Restaurant Magazine list of the Top 50 Restaurants of the World.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcus Samuelsson</span> Ethiopian Swedish chef

Marcus Samuelsson is an Ethiopian-born Swedish-American celebrity chef, restaurateur and television personality. He is the head chef of Red Rooster in Harlem, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frybread</span> Variety of flatbread

Frybread is a dish of the indigenous people of North America that is a flat dough bread, fried or deep-fried in oil, shortening, or lard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Bayless</span> American chef and restaurateur

Rick Bayless is an American chef and restaurateur who specializes in traditional Mexican cuisine with modern interpretations. He is widely known for his PBS series Mexico: One Plate at a Time. Among his various accolades are a Michelin star, the title of Top Chef Masters, and seven James Beard Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Blais</span> American chef

Richard Blais is an American chef, television personality, restaurateur, and author. He appeared on the reality show cooking show Top Chef, and is known for his take on classic American cuisine. Blais was the runner-up for the fourth season of Top Chef and returned several seasons later to win Top Chef: All-Stars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Peel (chef)</span> American chef (1954–2021)

Mark Peel was an American chef and restaurateur in California. Campanile, a restaurant owned by Peel and his former wife Nancy Silverton, won a James Beard Foundation Award in 2001. Peel specialized in California cuisine and was a pioneer of the farm-to-table concept.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Brock</span> American chef (born 1978)

Sean Brock is an American chef specializing in Southern cuisine.

Michael Solomonov is an Israeli chef known for his restaurants in Center City, Philadelphia. His first restaurant Zahav, founded in 2008, has received national recognition including the James Beard Foundation "Outstanding Restaurant" in 2019. Solomonov was also awarded Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic in 2011, Cookbook of the Year in 2016, and Outstanding Chef in 2017 from the James Beard Foundation. In 2021, The New York Times named his restaurant Laser Wolf as one of "the 50 places in America we're most excited about right now."

<i>The Sioux Chefs Indigenous Kitchen</i> 2017 recipe book

The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen is a recipe book written by Sean Sherman with Beth Dooley, published by the University of Minnesota Press in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Sean Sherman is an Oglala Lakota chef who was born in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, and is currently based in South Minneapolis. Sherman opened an Indigenous cuisine restaurant within the Water Works park development project overlooking Saint Anthony Falls and the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis in 2021.

<i>Original Local</i>

Original Local: Indigenous Foods, Stories and Recipes from the Upper Midwest is a recipe/collage book written by Heid E. Erdrich, published by the MN Historical Society Press in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Heid E. Sherman is a member of the North Dakota Turtle Mountain Band of the Ojibwe people who is currently based in South Minneapolis. Her cookbook explores native american cuisine and indigenous ingredients, within a globally-aware framework that includes stories, recollections and anecdotes.

Indigenous cuisine is a type of cuisine that is based on the preparation of cooking recipes with products obtained from native species of a specific area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lois Ellen Frank</span> American food historian and culinary anthropologist

Lois Ellen Frank is an American food historian, cookbook author, culinary anthropologist, and educator. She won a 2003 James Beard Foundation Award for her cookbook Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations, the first cookbook of Native American cuisine so honored.

<i>Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations</i> Cookbook of Native American cuisine

Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations is a 2002 cookbook by Lois Ellen Frank, food historian, cookbook author, photographer, and culinary anthropologist. The book won a 2003 James Beard award, the first Native American cuisine cookbook so honored. CNN called it "the first Native American cookbook to turn the heads of James Beard Foundation award judges".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Owamni</span> Restaurant in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.

Owamni by the Sioux Chef, or simply Owamni, is a Native American restaurant in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, that overlooks the Mississippi River. Owamni's majority Native American staff serves a menu made from indigenous ingredients such as game meats, corn, and wild plants. The restaurant does not serve ingredients that were introduced to the region by Europeans, including butter, dairy, sugar, black pepper, wheat, chicken, beef, and pork.

Ricky Moore is an American chef who owns Saltbox Seafood Joint in Durham, North Carolina. He won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Southeast in 2022

Dana Thompson is an American restaurateur and promoter of indigenous cuisine and food sovereignty. In 2022 her Minneapolis, Minnesota, restaurant Owamni won the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant.

References

  1. 1 2 "Minnesota chef, indigenous food champion, to showcase his passion here". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Judkis, Maura (November 22, 2017). "'This is not a trend': Native American chefs resist the 'Columbusing' of indigenous foods". Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 3, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  3. ↑ Figueroa, Francisca (September 13, 2018). "Revitalizing Indigenous Cuisine". Edible Communities. Archived from the original on June 3, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Sean Sherman; Beth Dooley (2017). The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN   978-0-8166-9979-7. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Young, PhD, Ashley Rose (December 17, 2018). ""Hyperlocal, ultraseasonal, uber-healthy, and utterly delicious": Reviving indigenous food cultures". National Museum of American History. Archived from the original on June 3, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Walhout, Hannah (October 2, 2017). "Sean Sherman on Decolonizing the American Diet". Food & Wine. Archived from the original on June 3, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 Rao, Tejal (August 16, 2016). "The Movement to Define Native American Cuisine". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 3, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  8. ↑ Al-Sulaiman, Salma (2018). "Decolonizing Our Diet: Sioux Chef". www.culturalsurvival.org. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  9. ↑ Dean, Lee Svitak (October 7, 2017). "'Sioux Chef' serves up indigenous foods: 'It's what paleo wants to be'". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  10. 1 2 Treuer, David (September 9, 2016). "The Sioux Chef Spreading the Gospel of America's First Food". SAVEUR. Archived from the original on November 17, 2016. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  11. 1 2 Forbes, Paula (November 29, 2017). "A Look Inside the Cookbook Redefining Native American Cuisine". Food52. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  12. 1 2 "2019 Leadership Award Winner Sean Sherman | James Beard Foundation". James Beard Foundation. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  13. ↑ Rickert-Bolter, Monica (November 29, 2017). "The Sioux Chef: Reinvigorating Indigenous Food Systems". Field Museum of Natural History. Archived from the original on December 27, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  14. 1 2 3 "The Sioux Chef". www.cbsnews.com. November 18, 2018. Archived from the original on June 3, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  15. 1 2 "The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen". www.publishersweekly.com. October 2017. Archived from the original on June 3, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  16. 1 2 March, Stephanie (May 6, 2019). "The Sioux Chef's Sean Sherman Honored by James Beard Foundation". Mpls.St.Paul Magazine. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  17. 1 2 3 Kormann, Carolyn (September 12, 2022). "How Owamni Became the Best New Restaurant in the United States". The New Yorker . Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Sean Sherman: The 100 Most Influential People of 2023". Time. April 13, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  19. ↑ Moya-Smith, Simon (April 6, 2019). "Native Americans are reclaiming fry bread, the food of our oppression". NBC News. Archived from the original on June 17, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  20. ↑ Cosier, Susan (September 22, 2017). "The "Sioux Chef" Shares His Roots (and the Midwest's, Too)". National Resources Defense Council. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  21. ↑ Twilley, Nicola; Graber, Cynthia (November 2016). "The 'Sioux Chef' Reviving Native American Cuisine". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  22. ↑ Lam, Francis (November 3, 2017). "Exploring indigenous kitchens of North America with Sean Sherman". www.splendidtable.org. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  23. 1 2 Miller, Jen (2008). "Frybread". Smithsonian. Archived from the original on May 26, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  24. ↑ d'Errico, Peter (July 13, 2017). "(Not) Fry Bread: The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen". IndianCountryToday.com. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  25. ↑ Rupp, Rebecca (November 23, 2016). "Native American Cuisine Returns to Its Roots". National Geographic. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  26. ↑ Armitage, Lynn (September 1, 2016). "Sioux Chef Has a Plan: Introduce Traditional Native Cuisine One Region at a Time". IndianCountryToday.com. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  27. ↑ Jackson, Sharyn (June 14, 2023). "Owamni chef and co-founder Sean Sherman wins Julia Child Award — and $50,000". Star Tribune . Retrieved June 14, 2023. Sherman donated his prize money to the nonprofit of José Andrés.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.