“Next Level Chef” Winner Named Barton School’s Latest Entrepreneur-in-Residence
Sept. 27, 2023
By Barton School of Business
About the Barton School of Business
Located in Kansas’ business hub and with significant ties to the business community,
the W. Frank Barton School of Business provides extensive applied learning opportunities.
With in-person and online options, Barton School undergraduate and graduate programs
are tailored to transform the lives of its students. It also holds a double AACSB
accreditation for business and accounting, which puts it in the top 1% of business
schools worldwide. The Barton School was established as the university’s College of
Business Administration and Industry in 1926 and has thousands of graduates around
the world.
The W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University has announced Pyet
DeSpain, an award winning and global private chef, as it’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence
for the Fall 2023 semester. DeSpain was the first winner of Gordon Ramsay’s “Next
Level Chef” TV show on Fox. In 2021, she was named one of the Top 25 Best Private
Chefs in Los Angeles by Entrepreneur Magazine.
“I am very excited to share my passion for cooking, entrepreneurship and my heritage
with the students and faculty of the Barton School,” said DeSpain. “While I now call
Los Angeles home, my heart belongs with where I grew up - in the Midwest. This will
serve as a pseudo homecoming for me.”
As the Barton School’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence, DeSpain will host a keynote presentation
titled “A Recipe For Success: When Business Meets Passion” on November 2, 2023 at
11 a.m. in Woolsey Hall. There she will discuss her life’s journey and transformational
experiences including winning “Next Level Chef.” It will be followed by a networking
session. In addition, DeSpain will engage with students in mentoring and networking
session as well as meet with the Barton School’s leadership team and faculty that
will inspire innovation in its programming and curriculum.
“For anyone who watched Pyet on ‘Next Level Chef,’ you will know that she is an amazing
culinary artist as well as a genuine and caring person,” said Dr. Larisa Genin, Dean
of the Barton School. “She will be an inspiration as our newest Entrepreneur-in-Residence.”
DeSpain is a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Tribe. She grew up on the
Osage Indian Reservation before moving with her family to Kansas City, Kansas. Her
passion for cooking developed as a child helping in the kitchens of her family’s taquerias
and restaurants in Kansas City. Her life’s work is dedicated to Indigenous Fusion
Cuisine, where she combines food from her heritage (Native American and Mexican).
In 2015, DeSpain started Pyet’s Plate, her personal chef business to promote passion
for wellness, nutrition and quality of food.
“The Barton School and our city have deep connections to entrepreneurs in the hospitality
industry,” said Dr. Shirley Lefever, Executive Vice President and Provost at Wichita
State. “Pyet will bring her unique perspective as a global and award-winning chef
to a new generation of entrepreneurs.”
