SPAC Announces Free Community Event: Culinary Conversationwith Indigenous Food Expert Mariah Gladstone

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Performing Arts Center has announced its CulinaryArts@SPAC initiative will continue with A Culinary Conversation with Indigenous Food Expert Mariah Gladstone at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 15 at The Pines at SPAC. 

Moderated by SPAC President & CEO Elizabeth Sobol, the discussion will explore the relationship between cultural identity, health, and native plants and animals; the history of Indigenous foodways and pre-contact ingredients, and how to incorporate these foods into contemporary dishes. Preceding the discussion and Q&A, attendees can enjoy complimentary Adirondack Chaga Tea by Saratoga Tea & Honey and sunflower maple cookies and dark chocolate seed brownies by lead sponsor Franklin Square Market. 

Gladstone is an indigenous cookbook author and the founder and CEO of Indigikitchen, an online cooking show dedicated to revitalizing Indigenous food systems, or “pre-contact” foods that once offered sustainable nutrition before colonization. Gladstone also offers cooking classes and demonstrations, school residencies, and educational lectures. Using foods native to the Americas, Gladstone gives viewers the important tools they need to find and prepare food in their own communities, connecting Native people to their cultures, and supporting healthier ecosystems, bodies, and families. Her recipes fuse traditional ingredients in unexpected ways, creating dishes like butternut bison lasagna, salmon cornmeal cakes, and pumpkin-seed brownies.  

The event is free to attend, however seating is limited. Register at spac.org.