Conn. cook puts focus on Indigenous fare
Sherry Pocknett’s love of cooking went hand in hand with her learning the Mashpee Wampanoag traditions from her family. After cooking with family and working for Foxwoods Resort & Casino, she started working on her Sly Fox Den restaurants, still working on the first one in Preston, Connecticut, and opening the Sly Fox Den Too in Charlestown, Rhode Island, in 2020.
In 2023, Pocknett won the James Beard Award for Best Chef for the Northeast, the first Indigenous person to do so. In addition, Pocknett has taped an appearance on the Food Network show “Beat Bobby Flay.”
Pocknett is the USA TODAY Woman of the Year 2024 for Connecticut.
The following answers were edited for conciseness and clarity.
Question: How did you get started in cooking?
Answer: I started cooking at a very early age. I come from a family of cooks, so I grew up with a wooden spoon in my mouth. My mother is amazing, and my dad (late Mashpee Wampanoag Chief Vernon “Sly Fox” Pocknett) was a hunter and fisherman. They bought me a Suzy Homemaker oven when I was about 8. I would cook anything in there. It would be deer, rabbit, quahogs, eels – anything my dad brought home. I cooked it all and fed it to my brothers. I knew then that’s what I wanted to do.
Growing up, my uncle, Earl Mills, had an amazing Native American restaurant in Mashpee, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. I never cooked in the restaurant, but I did some prep and if they needed me, I waitressed. When he retired, I guess I wasn’t ready. In my 20s, I did catering jobs with my father, so we did a lot of clam bakes and little parties.
My mother’s mother also played a big role in my life, and I was up there every Sunday learning. We’re seasonal people, so that’s what my grandmother taught me. The new year is in the spring, when the fish and birds return and the fiddleheads start growing.
What prompted you to make Native American cuisine your career?
A lot of people don’t know about Native food. They really do know about it, but they don’t know that it’s Native food. Everyone loves scrod, and it comes from the bays of Cape Cod.
When I came to work at the Pequot Museum, I learned my value then. I had a friend who needed some help with the museum. They had a restaurant over there. The food was good, but there wasn’t any Native food. I came to bring suggestions, but I stayed and loved the job. It was fun and educational for me, and I loved working with the people.
I stayed there for five or six years, and then I was catering, and it was getting to be a lot. I was looking for a place to cater out of, so I found the former Brookside Cafe in Preston. It’s an amazing spot. My first thought was an oyster farm. Herring go up the brook by the cafe. There are black walnut trees. These are living things, and we treat them like relatives. I fell in love with the place, and I bought it in 2019 by the skin of my teeth.
We worked hard to try to get it ready for 2020, but then the pandemic came. There was no catering and no income beyond the crazy amount of unemployment we were getting. When that ran out in October 2020, I was going to Rhode Island for a Native American ceremony, and I drove by a cute little restaurant that had a sign saying “for rent.” I thought it’d help me create revenue for the Preston restaurant.
Three years later, I’m getting a James Beard Award (for Best Chef in the Northeast). That’s crazy. Opening a restaurant at 60 years old? The average person doesn’t want to do that. I’m still working hard, trying to raise money to get the Preston restaurant open. We’re also going to put a living Native American museum by the restaurant.
I’ve got a book coming out, and the name of the book is “The Bounty of the Season Is a Good Reason to Give Thanks.” It really is a good reason to give thanks. When the fish come back, things are still good. We have to take care of the land. That’s what my dad taught us. You can’t be putting Roundup on your yard because you want your grass green. Dandelions are superfood! The greens are good, and they’ve got lots of vitamins.
One day I’ll have a cooking school when I retire.
Who paved the way for you? Who did you pave the way for?
“A lot of people don’t know about Native food. They really do know about it, but they don’t know that it’s Native food.”
My ancestors paved the way because this is my gift for my people. This is a gift for anybody in my tribe. I love to teach about cooking and our culture and living off the water and the land to anybody willing to learn.
I’m paving the way for my two daughters and my niece. We got to get my niece up here and cooking. My two daughters are amazing cooks.
What was your proudest moment?
My proudest moment was winning the James Beard Award. I still don’t believe it, and I’m wearing it! I’m modest and I try to stay humble, but my kids say, “Mom, you won it; flaunt it!”
What was your lowest moment?
My lowest moment was cancer, but I beat it. My doctor telling me I’m cancerfree could be my highest moment.
My other lowest moment is not being able to open the Sly Fox Den. I need money, and the Sly Fox Den Too hasn’t given enough yet. We’re still at the beginning stages. I’m looking to rent a big hall and have a fundraiser.
What is your definition of courage?
Courage is taking chances, believing in yourself and going after it. I’m going to raise the money and get that restaurant open.
Is there a guiding principle or mantra you tell yourself?
Keep your eye on the prize, and don’t give up. I almost gave up a couple times, but I have a lot of people rooting for me. My support system is through the roof; that’s how I got through cancer. If you don’t believe in yourself, then fake it until you get there.
Who do you look up to?
I look up to my mom. She’s 85 and still cooking for the tribe. The guys will be working on the oyster farm in the cold, and she’ll bring them some nice hot soup or strawberry cake or blueberry dumplings.
How do you overcome adversity?
I pray a lot. I believe in a creator, and he put me in the position I am in. Everybody has their higher power.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Follow your heart. I always wanted my own restaurant. I dreamt of it as a little girl.