Tawnya Brant

Chef Tawnya Brant is a Mohawk Nation, Turtle Clan citizen of the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory and the chef-owner of Yawékon Foods, a catering and educational company dedicated to Haudenosaunee traditional and contemporary foodways. She is also the host of One Dish One Spoon on APTN, with season two airing in May 2026.

After becoming a mother, Chef Tawnya shifted her culinary focus toward Indigenous foods, founding Yawékon Foods to honor and revitalize Haudenosaunee culinary roots. Five years ago, she expanded her vision by opening Yawékon by Chef Tawnya Brant, a brick-and-mortar space located in her home territory of Ohswé:ken, deepening her impact both within her community and internationally.

Raised in Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, Chef Tawnya grew up surrounded by Indigenous harvests and wild game, experiences that shaped her lifelong connection to food. With over 31 years in the restaurant industry, she is also a Top Chef Canada Season 10 finalist.

Chef Tawnya is a recurring guest chef on CTV’s The Good Stuff with Mary Berg and has been featured on CTV’s The Social, Milk Masters 2024, APTN In Focus, and on the covers of Food & Drink Canada (June 2023) and Menu Magazine(Fall 2023). Her work has also appeared in Canadian Living, LCBO Food & Drink, and Chatelaine, among others.

In October 2023, she received the Alumni of Distinction Award (Entrepreneur Category) from Mohawk College, and in November 2024, she was honored as a featured speaker at the Penn State Speakers Forum.

Since 2014, Chef Tawnya has traveled across North America sharing her cuisine and food philosophy. When not in the kitchen, she can be found tending the Mohawk Seedkeepers Gardens, continuing the legacy of her late mother through seed saving and the promotion of traditional Haudenosaunee agricultural practices.