INSIDE NMAI
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NEW EXECUTIVE CHEF AT MITSITAM CAFE
BY CLAU DI A L IM A
USING MODERN TECHNIQUES COMBINED WITH TRADITIONAL NATIVE INGREDIENTS, MITSITAM’S MENU IS DIVIDED IN FIVE SERVING STATIONS REPRESENTING FIVE NATIVE CULTURES OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE; SOUTH AMERICA, MESOAMERICA, NORTHERN WOODLANDS, NORTHWEST COAST AND GREAT PLAINS.
T 44 AMERICAN INDIAN SUMMER 2015
he well-known Mitsitam Na- tive Foods Cafe, the restaurant at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indi- an on the National Mall, is now on the hands of new Executive
Chef Jerome Grant. Since the 2004 opening of the Museum in
Washington, D.C., Mitsitam Cafe has become a destination in its own right. Mitsitam means “Let’s Eat!” in the language of the Delaware and Piscataway People. The cafe enriches the visitors’ experience by providing the oppor- tunity to enjoy indigenous cuisines of North and South America. With the cafe’s dishes based on indigenous American ingredients or cooking techniques, the restaurant has adapted traditional foods to the requirements of a modern cafeteria. Chef Jerome Grant began his culinary
career at a very young age while helping his Filipino mother at work. Even though Chef Grant is not American Indian, he grew up around powwows and fry bread while living in Oklahoma and, later, in upstate New York. A graduate of the Pennsylvania Culinary
Institute in Pittsburgh, Chef Grant sharp- ened his skills in the Virgin Islands where he was awarded the title, “Best New Chef in St. Croix.” After returning to Washington, D.C., Chef Grant was a critical part of the culinary team at the Mitsitam Cafe that won the 2012 Rammy (prize for excellence in the Metropol- itan Washington’s restaurant and foodservice community) for Best Casual Restaurant. A lot of studying – that’s how Chef Grant
formulates the menus and to which he attri- butes his success. He gets inspirations from his travels. “I always plan my vacations around
food,” he says. His love for a sustainable diet, the nature and everything that comes from it, made him passionate about Mitsitam’s culi- nary history. Using modern techniques combined with
traditional native ingredients, Mitsitam’s menu is divided in five serving stations rep- resenting five Native cultures of the Western hemisphere; South America, Mesoamerica, Northern Woodlands, Northwest Coast and Great Plains. Each station depicts the lifeways and related cooking techniques, ingredients and flavors found in both traditional and contemporary Native dishes. Each menu reflects the food and cooking techniques of the featured region. Dishes are made by hand and mostly cooked with ancient techniques adapted to today’s structures. The menu changes according to the seasons and reflects the richness of each region. Chef Grant is always in search of Native
ways of cooking. His goal is to be as true as possible to the origin of the ingredients. His menus reflect Native stories and the meaning of the food. His intension is to create an ac- cessible understanding of the culture and the story behind the dishes. “Essential to survival, food is also an ex-
pression of our family, community and cul- tural values,” says Kevin Gover, director of the National Museum of the American Indian. “In every Native community, there are recipes so familiar they have never been written down and simple dishes that appear on the table at every gathering. In sharing these dishes with each other and our guests, we share our stories in the most ordinary yet significant way.” Wild Grain Bars is Chef Grant’s new addition to the regular menu. He shares the recipe here.
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