Dorri Partain
Dorri Partain
Managing Editor
Harvest flavors of pumpkin, squash and maple are bountiful in classic fall recipes but Chef Melissa Garrett highlights these flavors to create ancestral dishes, which can be traced to pre-Colonial times.
During a culinary presentation at the Kansas City Museum (3218 Gladstone Blvd) titled “Fall Flavors,” Chef Garrett prepared what she describes as “traditional foods modified to meet modern palates.” As a registered member of the Cherokee Nation, Quapaw Nation and Seneca-Cayuga Nation, she said she uses generational foods and recipes to share her culture — along with tribal stories and songs.
On Saturday, Nov. 16, Chef Garrett offered 14 class participants the chance to experience a variety of dishes using naturally-sourced ingredients. Dishes prepared included a salad of combined greens and vinaigrette dressing, pumpkin soup, buffalo hash and a cornmeal cookie for dessert. This meal included Quapaw (O-Gah-Paw) coffee — a special blend of beans roasted by members of the tribal nation.
For Chef Garrett, she said the pumpkin soup is not just a traditional recipe, it’s also a memory of a dish made often by her grandmother — composed of ingredients that were “on hand” instead of purchasing specific items at a grocery — though she admits that she herself often uses canned pumpkin for consistency. In addition to pumpkin, this soup is flavored with sweet corn — which acts as natural starch to thicken this soup — onion and nutmeg, for a savory-sweet flavor combination.
Her buffalo hash recipe combines wild rice, chunks of roasted sweet potato, maple syrup and meat harvested, according to tribal practices. The cookie — while not a traditional indigenous offering — combines flavors found in ancestral dishes.
Cafe at 3218 — a culinary classroom inside the Kansas City Museum — was originally planned to be an eatery that highlighted local chefs. Located on the museum’s first floor, this commercial kitchen was built in the space where the original kitchen for Corinthian Hall — built in 1910 for Robert A. Long and his family — was once located before the home became a museum in 1940.
According to Paul Gutierrez, deputy director of visitor experience and public engagement, the museum’s culinary programs are designed to compliment current exhibits, so the public can taste, see and feel a culture’s specific artifacts on display. Programs at Cafe at 3218 can also highlight up and coming chefs, such as Garrett, who operated Carefree Creations — a catering company, which specializes in indigenous food offerings. Reflecting this focus on tribal foods, the company was recently renamed Wadulisi’s.
In addition to this month’s class, Chef Garrett has previously presented other menu items, such as Three Sisters soup, venison chili and Indian tacos. Her generational, indigenous recipes provide an extra layer to artifacts in the museum’s Cultures Confluence Gallery: Rivers to 1870’s exhibit.
As Chef Garrett prepared for Saturday’s class, she measured ingredients in a modern state-of-the-art kitchen, while recorded tribal music played in the background. In sharing her culture with those of other cultures, her intent is “to show where we (Native Americans) came from and where we are today.”
“Ultimately, this is about creating a living legacy,” Chef Garrett said. “Preserving culture not just for our generation but for the future. And we’re doing it one plate at a time.”
For more information about museum classes and programs, visit kansascitymuseum.org or call 816-702-7700.
Julia Williams
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