Sherry Pocknett, Chef

Mashpee Wampanoag of Massachusetts tribal member Sherry Pocknett was recently honored as one of over 20 other semifinalists from the six New England states. And Pocknett would go on to win the coveted James Beard award for Best Chef of the northeastern U.S.-the first Native American woman ever to win the honor.

Nicknamed the "Academy Awards of the food world," the James Beard award is the highest honor in the U.S. food industry. It is also considered to be among the country's most prestigious honors in recognizing outstanding talent in the culinary and food media industries. The Award is also committed to community, sustainability, racial and gender equity, and a culture in which everyone can thrive.

But it wasn't an easy road for Pocknett, who began her chef career by selling food and drinks at local powwows some twenty years ago. As word of her delicious foods spread, she was appointed food and beverage manager at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center in Mashantucket, Connecticut.

Although she says she was "born with a wooden spoon in [her] mouth," Sherry credits her success to her solid background, rich heritage, and lots of help from her family. Her father always believed in her even when her desire to own a restaurant was a distant dream. But other chefs in her family inspired her rise to the top: From the 1970s through 2000, her family owned and operated The Flume Restaurant in Mashpee on Cape Cod.

Also, for 30 years, Sherry's uncle, Chief Flying Eagle (Earl Mills Sr.), was the chef/owner of Dovecrest, a Native American restaurant. It operated in Exeter, Rhode Island and closed in the early 1990s. Her grandmother, Delscena Hendricks, was a chef and master baker.

However, Chief Sly Fox (Vernon Pocknett, her father) inspired her most. From the time she was only three years old, he exposed her to the preparation of top-level Native American cuisine. From all of nature's four seasons of bounty, she was introduced to delicious, nutritious meals. She would later name her Sly Fox Den Too restaurant in his honor. Her new restaurant, Sly Fox Den, is scheduled to open in 2024.

Even as she now battles breast cancer and endures all that goes with the treatment of it, Sherry Pocknett still does what is necessary to keep the opening of Sly Fox Den on schedule while daughters Cheyenne and Jade Pocknett-Galvin and others of her team help to keep Sly Fox Den Too going. Pocknett's aim is to continue providing traditional seasonal Indigenous foods with focus on variety as well as good health. She also believes it important to keep the Mashpee Wampanoag traditions alive through exposing her authentic Native American cooking to another generation.

Having grown up in southeastern Connecticut on the tribe's reservation lands, Sherry is fully aware of "when the fish come back, and the birds, snapping turtles and frogs wake up," all of which can become food items on the Sly Fox Too menus. Deer are also hunted, but never in the spring, "when the doe give birth to their young." Sherry is aware, too, of when the berries ripen-strawberries being among the favorites.

Although cooking remains her focus, Pocknett also believes strongly in education, and that it is important "to teach another generation how to live in harmony with the seasons, to utilize every part of plants, fish, or animal and never take anything for granted."

For beautiful color photos of menu items, visit: Sly Fox Den Too, Charlestown, Rhode Island webpage.

Sources:

Boston Globe, Indigenous Chef Keeps Wampanoag Traditions Alive...

Edible Rhody

Johnson, Eliesa, The Restaurant Project

LinkedIn

KB Schaller is the International Book Award-winning author of 100+ Native American Women Who Changed the World, Women's Issues Category. Whatsoever the Sacrifice, her latest work, and other KB Schaller books are available through amazon.com and other booksellers.