By Raphael Kadushin 7 April 2021
One big bubbling stew of flavours, American cuisine has never stopped shifting shape and adding accents, with successive waves of immigrants happily swapping and blending their culinary traditions for centuries. There is, though, one crucial legacy missing from the raucous mix, and that s ironically America s own Indigenous cuisine. Native American food, if it s recognised today at all, usually only materialises on the Thanksgiving table, where it is represented by a token squash or a pumpkin centrepiece. America s colonisers simply erased Native culture from the story of the Americas
How did such a rich heritage go missing? Blame it, said Dr Lois Ellen Frank, a Santa Fe-based chef, author and food historian, on a simple and increasingly familiar story. History of course is always told from a specific perspective, she said. And America s colonisers simply erased Native culture from the story of the Americas. If we told the tal
.... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
The significance in New Mexico of the “three sisters” – beans, corn and squash – is referenced in virtual culinary tours from Heritage Inspirations. (Courtesy of Heritage Inspirations)
Heritage Inspirations has a new approach to its guided New Mexico excursions.
People’s own homes are now the destination, and experiences have a culinary focus.
“With the pandemic, we went through so many innovations across 2020 and really trying to identify what we could possibly do strategically to engage our guests,” said Angelisa Murray, CEO and inspired guide at Heritage Inspirations. “We have a really strong (list of) return guests that come and travel with us year after year. So when we went to the drawing board, we’ve actually done all sorts of things, but one specifically came from the inspiration of being sheltered at home and being in your home and finding ways to connect with othe