Red Mesa Catering
" Red Mesa Catering " is a combined effort of Chef Lois Ellen Frank Kiowa and Walter Whitewater, Diné, (Navajo) to bring Native American Cuisine into the contemporary Southwest kitchens and to help sustain traditional foods, traditional agricultural food practices, as well as keep alive culinary techniques from a variety of Native communities. Chefs Frank & Whitewater cook contemporary American Indian foods using ancient techniques and ingredients all with a modern twist.
Red Mesa features a Culture and Cuisine experience for its patrons. Red Mesa has cooked for groups from all over the United States visiting the Santa Fe area and have also traveled to destinations all over the USA as guest chefs. The Culture and Cuisine series includes an introductory lecture on the Native foods being prepared for each group, their importance to the Native Peoples of the Southwest and their history. Patrons learn about all the ingredients they eat.
The history talk and story telling are followed by an incredible and unique meal prepared by Native American Chefs, with seasonal and locally purchased foods, many of which are supplied by Native American tribal nations using ancient sustainable practices. This supports community agricultural practices, food production of these sustainable foods, as well as guarentees the future of Native foods. In many cases the purchasing of these foods revitalizes their food practices. It also helps each community link health and wellness to these Native foods.
By using and purchasing traditional Native foods we help keep alive endangered food traditions and traditional food ways from the tribal groups we purchase them from. An example of this is the Tepary bean, Saguaro syrup & Cholla buds which is purchased from the Tohono O'odham Nation (TOCA) in Sells, Arizona. Tepary beans are a flood plain bean that the Tohono O'Odham Nation has been growing and harvesting for centuries. Saguaro syrup is made from the Giant Saguaro cactus fruits, which are still hand gathered, in the summer season. The fruits are harvested with long traditional poles up to 30 feet tall and then made into a syrup. Cholla buds are hand harvested and then roasted and dried, reconstituted, sauteed and eaten as a vegetable. If you would like to know more or order some of the products yourself you can visit their website at tocaonline.org It will give you insight into some of the products they offer and that we at Red Mesa Cuisine buy.
We also buy bison from Picuris Pueblo, Picuris is one of the members of the Inter Tribal Bison Cooperative and make some delicious dishes using the bison they raise. Buying bison from the Pueblo supports their community and some of the ritual and important food projects they are working on through their bison program.By restoring buffalo to Indian Country we preserve the historical, cultural, traditional and spiritual relationship with bison, for future generations.
Some of the foods we prepare for our meals are hand gathered ourselves and prepared according to ancient traditions. We hand gather wild Indian tea, also called Cota in and around the Santa Fe area, as well as, on the reservation in Arizona. We hand gather yucca blossoms in the Spring, wild edible greens including tumbleweed greens and purslane for salads, soups, stews, and vegetables. We also hand gather prickly pears once a year which we make into sauces and syrups for our meat dishes and desserts, Dishes like prickly pear syrup,we serve together local with our peach honey and chocolate pinon torte and a prickly pear glaze which we use on our grilled quail.
Red Mesa is the only catering company in the Santa Fe area preparing authentic Native American Cuisine and buying ingredients from Southwest Indian Nations. Each menu is specially and carefully prepared to cater to the needs of each group whether it is a group of friends, a corporate group, an educational group, a tribal group a wedding or just persons interested in learning about the traditional Native foods of this region. The culinary experience we provide is unlike anything else in New Mexico or the Southwest and the testimonials of our patrons prove this.
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