Chef Nephi Craig Visits USU to Share Native American Cuisine and Culture

Native American Culinary Association founder, chef Nephi Craig, is coming to Utah State University for an indigenous foods presentation and lecture on his work with the “three sisters” of Native American cuisine—beans, corn and squash—and to teach nutrition and share cultural heritage.   

Craig has 20 years of culinary experience having worked around the world and provides trainings, workshops and lectures on Native American cuisine for health at schools, restaurants, universities, treatment centers, behavioral health agencies and tribal entities. Two of Craig’s events at USU are open to the public. 

When: 

• Food presentation on March 5, at 3 p.m. at Beth’s Bistro, Center for Clinical Excellence building.
• Lecture on March 6 at 3 p.m. at Merrill-Cazier Library in room 101 with reception to follow.

During Craig’s 9-year tenure at Sunrise Park Resort, including serving as executive chef, he and his culinary team achieved many national and international benchmarks in establishing a culture of indigenous foods across the country. 

Randy Williams, a folklore curator and oral history specialist at USU’s Merrill-Cazier Library, met Craig at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in 2018. 

“First of all, he’s going to bring yummy food to the table, but also a way for us to look at new foodways from a new perspective,” Williams said. “It will be interesting to see how a culinary chef is interweaving traditional foodways from his own community and looking at indigenous foods the same way we might look at French cuisine.”