Tribal Member Guest Hosts NHBP Virtual Cooking Class

Written by Katie Halloran | Photos Contributed by Tribal Member Elli Chivis

Deep into her second year at Grand Rapids Community College’s (GRCC) Secchia Institute for the Culinary Arts, NHBP Tribal Member Elli Chivis, 20, Greenville, Michigan, still finds time to pay it forward for her fellow Tribal Members.

After reading an email from The Turtle Press, Chivis learned of the Virtual Cooking Class, hosted monthly by NHBP Registered Dietitian Erin Stark, MS, RD, CDCES. Wasting no time, Chivis sought more details about the class and how she could use her culinary expertise to introduce different recipes while sharing her love for cooking with other Tribal Members.

Stark was more than happy to bring Chivis into the mix for the Virtual Cooking Class. “I was elated!” said Stark. “I thought that this would be such a cool opportunity for the participants to learn from a professionally trained, aspiring chef and Tribal Member.”

Chivis led the class on Friday, August 23, 2023, from her home kitchen in Greenville. “Being a virtual program, people attended from all over the country,” said Chivis. “It was so good to see people cooking for themselves. I loved the way that people were engaging with what I was teaching and telling them.”

In advance of the class, Chivis worked closely with Stark to create a recipe, an Asian-inspired Lemon Grass stir-fry that had to meet several requirements.

“The recipe shouldn’t include salt, as people with hypertension should reduce its use, and it had to have familiar enough ingredients so people felt comfortable making it,” said Chivis. “Working with Erin, who is a dietitian, was really interesting for me as a chef. She brought a completely different element to the recipe, teaching about the nutritional facts for each ingredient.”

With 14 attendees in their Virtual Class, Chivis was delighted to see a diversity of ages and genders represented. “I’m 20 years old, and to be helping Elders and other Tribal Members learn to make a dish they had never had before, was just amazing.”

Seeing representation from Bodéwadmi people is important for Chivis as she follows her journey of becoming a personal chef. “I was inspired by Pyet, Stephanie (Pyetwetmokwe) DeSpain, on the reality show Next Level Chef, because she won the 2022 season and is Native American. She talked about her life on The Rez, and just seeing another Native American person succeeding in cooking was inspiring for me.”

Chivis is grateful to NHBP for helping provide her with financial assistance as she accomplishes her goals.

“I am very fortunate my Tribe is helping me pay for school, so I don’t have to balance a job and classes full-time,” said Chivis. Her class schedule at GRCC starts at 8:30 a.m. in a lab or a class and often ends after she completes her homework late into the evening.

Being on a seven-week term schedule in her culinary school, “If you miss a single day, it’s so hard to catch up.”

Chivis maintains this rigorous schedule every Monday through Friday before driving home each day.

“Just being able to focus fully on my classes has provided me with the freedom to focus.”

Chivis says that the expense of culinary school “can hold people back,” but with NHBP’s financial support through its Post-Secondary Education Payment Assistance Program, Chivis has worked diligently to become a top producer in most of her classes, including one of her favorite courses: Pastries.

Not just a favorite course, Chivis has also decided to obtain a certification in Baking and Pastry Arts,in addition to her associate’s degree and another certification as a Personal Chef.

“Thanks to NHBP, I can focus and take courses and get certifications that will definitely set me apart from the crowd,” said Chivis.

Her goal is to become a personal chef and to work for herself, “to make her own hours.” Through her program at GRCC, Chivis has also created specific business plans if she should ever decide to open up a catering business or a restaurant.

For now, Chivis is laser-focused on finishing her degree in 2024 and is open to the prospect of guest-hosting future Virtual Cooking classes, much to the delight of Stark.

“Once her busy schedule allows, I encouraged Elli to host again,” said Stark.

If any Tribal Member, clinic patient or NHBP employee is interested in learning recipes through the monthly Virtual Cooking Class, please contact Stark at 269.704.4180 or erin.stark@nhbp-nsn.gov.

If any Tribal Members are interested in pursuing higher education, please contact Higher Education Specialist Andrea Rainer at andrea.rainer@nhbp-nsn.gov or 269.704.8356.

In case you didn’t know, NHBP Tribal Members who choose to pursue post-secondary education have access to a number of programs, which help eliminate out-of-pocket costs and/or the need for student loans. The Post-Secondary Education Payment Assistance Program provides payment for the cost of attendance while pursuing a certificate or degree at accredited institutions of higher learning. Payments are determined by a student’s unmet need and enrollment status. Additionally, students are eligible for assistance to pay for their books and supplies, a laptop, testing and college application fees, and graduation expenses.