He did that himself and he’s really good. “But he learned from like four or five different people and he made his own recipe. When he first jumped on the Four Directions team, he didn’t even know how to make frybread,” she said. When asked what makes their Indian Tacos special, Irvin, like any good cook, gave some hints but not her secrets. Twenty-two competitors took part in the event, held in downtown Pawhuska. People’s Choice went to Jacque Jones and the Jones girls.
The championships also saw some familiar faces and winners with Second place going to 8-time champion Ramona Horsechief, and third place going to Frybread Factory LLC. They had just enough time to get in a brief sleep at the new Pawhuska Osage Casino & Hotel, which they said was “very nice.” They drove 10 hours from Wagner, S.D., before arriving in the early morning on the day of the competition. The Four Directions team, Michelle Irvin, Ingrid Weddell, Andrea Cournoyer and Loren Kazena, all work at the restaurant located in the casino and hotel owned and operated by the Yankton Sioux Tribe. The 19 th Annual National Indian Taco Championship crown went to the chefs of Four Directions Restaurant this year, a four-person team from the Fort Randall Casino/Hotel in South Dakota.
