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Lois Ellen Frank
James Beard Award winner
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
Lois Ellen Frank is an American chef with Red Mesa Cuisine, LLC in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where the work is as much about cultural memory as it is about food. She studied at the University of New Mexico in 2011 and works alongside Chef Walter Whitewater at Red Mesa Cuisine, LLC, a small catering company specializing in Native American cuisine. Across her career, Frank has moved with uncommon fluency between the kitchen, the classroom, and the wider world of cultural advocacy, bringing each role into conversation with the others.
Coming Up
Those early paths helped shape a career built on observation, precision, and storytelling. In the kitchen, she learned the discipline of timing, flavor, and service; behind the camera, she developed an eye for composition, detail, and the power of an image to carry a message. Together, those experiences seem to have informed a professional life that has never remained in one lane for long. That breadth now defines her present work. Today, Lois is adjunct professor of Institute of American Indian Arts, culinary instructor of Santa Fe School of Cooking, consultant of Cultural Conservancy, Culinary Ambassador Diplomat of United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, workshop leader and program collaborator of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and founder and operator of Red Mesa Cuisine. Each title suggests a different setting, but the throughline is unmistakable: teaching, preserving, and sharing Native American cuisine in ways that honor both tradition and continuity.
Where They Are Now
Frank’s current work centers on Indigenous Cuisine and Cultural Education, with a focus on the revitalization of ancestral Native American cuisine. At Red Mesa Cuisine, LLC in Santa Fe, she cooks alongside Chef Walter Whitewater, shaping food as a vessel for knowledge, remembrance, and exchange. The company’s intimate scale suits that purpose. Rather than chasing spectacle, it appears to be rooted in careful attention to ingredients, technique, and the cultural meaning carried by each dish. She has said, "We focus on Indigenous Cuisine and Cultural Education, and work on the revitalization of ancestral Native American cuisine." The statement captures the clarity of her mission: to make cuisine a living archive, and to keep that archive accessible through teaching and practice.
Signature
Lois's signature dishes include Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations. The phrase itself suggests both range and specificity, pointing to a body of work grounded in place, season, and the culinary traditions of Native communities in the Southwest Indian Nations.
In Their Words “My name is Lois Ellen Frank, and I am a Santa Fe, New Mexico-based chef cooking alongside Chef Walter Whitewater at Red Mesa Cuisine, LLC, a small catering company specializing in Native American cuisine.” “We focus on Indigenous Cuisine and Cultural Education, and work on the revitalization of ancestral Native American cuisine.”
Recognition
Lois Ellen Frank has received Krider Prize for Creativity, UCDA Foundation (2011).
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Lois
Where did Lois Ellen Frank train or study?
Lois Ellen Frank trained at University of New Mexico and University of New Mexico.
What recognition has Lois Ellen Frank received?
James Beard Foundation Award for Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations (2003).
