How I Built This with Guy Raz

HIBT Lab! The Sioux Chef: Sean Sherman

Feb 2, 2023

Chef Sean Sherman, an Oglala Lakota Sioux, is on a mission to revive Native American cuisine by using indigenous ingredients. He shares his transformation from childhood experiences with processed foods on a reservation to exploring culinary traditions. Sean discusses the challenges of food access and health issues within Native communities. He highlights the importance of using heirloom varieties, foraged plants, and native animals. His venture, The Sioux Chef, celebrates and modernizes these culinary practices, culminating in the award-winning restaurant Owamni.

35:45

Episode guests

Sean Sherman

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

4min

Challenges of Food Access and Nutrition on the Reservation

2min

From Kitchen Dreams to Culinary Reality

6min

Exploring Indigenous Identity Through Culinary Heritage

2min

Revitalizing Indigenous Cuisine

4min

Reclaiming Indigenous Culinary Heritage

20min

The Future of Indigenous Cuisine in America

3min

Chef Sean Sherman is on a mission to revitalize and reimagine Native American cuisine.

Growing up on a reservation in South Dakota, Sean ate a lot of highly processed foods provided by the U.S. government. It wasn’t until he started working in restaurants as a teenager that he began to learn about fresh ingredients and how to prepare them. But as Sean climbed the kitchen ranks, learning the techniques and recipes of European-style fine dining, he began to wonder what happened to the culinary traditions of his Native American ancestors.

This week on How I Built This Lab, Sean talks with Guy about establishing a modern North American indigenous cuisine by cutting out non-native ingredients such as pork, chicken, beef, dairy, wheat and cane sugar. Instead, he cooks with heirloom varieties of corn, wild rice, foraged plants and native animals such as bison, salmon, duck and beaver. Under The Sioux Chef brand, Sean has hosted pop-up dinners, published a cookbook, operated a food truck, and in 2021, he opened Owamni, which won the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant.

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