Reconnecting to Our Roots: Food as Medicine, Memory, and Resistance

About this event

Registration is required; please REGISTER HERE starting Oct. 20 . (Note: Clicking "RSVP" or "Click to Register" here on the OIC site does NOT register you with the event host. Please register at the external link provided.)

Join Dayton Metro Library for an inspiring evening with acclaimed chef and author Pyet DeSpain. This engaging program explores how food connects us to our heritage, supports wellness, and serves as a powerful form of cultural expression and resistance. Designed to spark meaningful conversation—especially among young adults—this event invites our community to reflect on nourishment in all its forms: physical, emotional, and cultural.

Pyet DeSpain (Pyetwetmokwe) is a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation and an award-winning global private chef. She is the first-ever winner of Gordon Ramsay’s Next Level Chef and has been recognized as one of the Top 25 Private Chefs in Los Angeles by Entrepreneur Magazine. Known for her Indigenous Fusion cuisine, Pyet blends Native American and Mexican culinary traditions, using food as a platform to uplift Indigenous culture, storytelling, and community. Her debut cookbook, Rooted in Fire : A Celebration of Native American and Mexican Cooking, will be available for purchase at the event, with a local bookseller on site.

The evening will feature a 45-minute moderated conversation, followed by an opportunity to meet Pyet during a post-program reception and book signing.

DML is pleased to welcome Lee Lauren Truesdale, Chief Development Officer at The Foodbank, Inc., as our moderator. A lifelong Dayton resident and dedicated advocate for food access, Lee brings both professional expertise and personal passion to this important conversation about food as a unifying force.