Tawnya Brant, chef and owner of Yawékon Foods

Chef Tawnya Brant is a Kanyen’kehá:ka (Mohawk) woman of the Tekarihoken Turtle clan. She lives on the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory in southern Ontario, where she uses her catering company, Yawékon Foods, and YouTube channel (youtube.com/tawnyalbrant) to share her work in the Indigenous food sovereignty movement. “My family makes these pancakes and wintergreen sun tea for the winter solstice,” she says. “Haudenosaunee [the name by which the Iroquois/Six Nations often refer to themselves] have a large variety of corn and squash they use for many dishes.” They’re harvested along with walnuts during autumn for the winter months. Chef Brant’s blue corn and pumpkin pancakes are a delicious mid-winter dish that connects us to the harvest.

“I am sharing my Indigenous food knowledge with anyone willing to learn.”