Sheep Tales Gathering

Basque Food In The West: There to Here and Then to Now

Friday, October 9, 2026

7:00 PM

The Argyros Performing Arts Center

120 South Main Street, Ketchum

$25.00

Tickets on Sale July 1st!

Online ticket sales close Thursday, October 8th at 12pm, after that, tickets may be available at the door for purchase, subject to availability.

The 2026 Festival will again feature the storytelling arm of our event - the Sheep Tales Gathering. This event will feature esteemed, James Beard nominated Boise resident and chef – Dan Ansotegui. Dan is a well-known local Basque chef in Boise owning and operating such restaurants as Bar Gernika and Ansots Basque Chorizos & Catering, and founding The Basque Market.

Dan will be joined by John Ysura who has a PhD in history with a specialty in the history of the Basque diaspora of the western United States, as well as Patty Miller who is the Basque Community History Project Director for the Basque Museum and Cultural Center in Boise, Idaho.

Together, they will present "Basque Food In The West: There to Here and Then to Now" speaking about how Basque food has changed from the farmhouses of the Basque country of Spain and France, to the Basque owned boarding houses, and to today's Basque restaurants throughout the U.S. This presentation addresses food as culture and the influence of the Basque culture and community experiences in their contemporary culinary work and how these fit with today’s consumers who want to know where their food comes from, how it is raised, how to prepare it and how it is a part of current culture.

Basque culture and community topics will be intertwined into the conversation. These ideas include the effect of the sheep ranches of the West on the development of Basque communities, Basque boarding houses in the Hailey/Ketchum area in the 1900s as well as aspects of Basque communities that held them together in the West.

Topics will include:

Peppers, potatoes, beans and corn introduced to Spain from the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries which have played a huge role in the development of today's definition of Basque food.
How did food develop on the small Basque farms, or baserris, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and what were the early restaurants like?
How did this food change as Basque cooks came to sheep ranches in the West and which foods did they lose and which did they gain?
How did the food change even further in the Basque boarding houses and then again once those boarding houses changed to restaurants?
How has modern Basque food in the homeland changed Basque restaurants in the western U.S.?

Event Details

Dan Ansotegui

Presenter

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Dan Ansotegui was born to Domingo Ansotegui and Dorothy Inchausti Ansotegui in Boise. Along with four sisters, the Ansotegui kids were raised with Basque food being a part of every meal. Dorothy learned to cook from her mother Epi Inchausti, at her parents' Basque boarding house in Hailey, as well as from her father-in-law, Santiago Ansotegui, who lived with the Ansotegui family in Boise. Dan's mom, Dorothy, taught him the basics of Basque cooking and most of all the appreciation for the food and the stories of its tradition in the Ansotegui and Inchausti families. Dan remembers watching his grandmother, Epi, cook for the family which often numbered 50 people with all of the aunts, uncles, and cousins. Dan also fondly remembers going up to Hailey each year in the fall for the Basque dinner at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Hailey. Each year, Epi, her daughters, and many from the Hailey community, helped put on a Basque dinner for the community, while Dan's father and his good friend, Jimmy Jausoro, played music for the dinner. Dan and his sisters along with Jimmy's daughters, would perform their Basque dances throughout the evening while also getting to nibble from the bit pots in the kitchen.

After studying the Basque language in the Basque country of Spain in Dan's sophomore year of college, Dan came back to Boise to open Bar Gernika, a Basque styled pub in downtown Boise in June of 1991. Later, in 1999, Dan opened the Basque Market just down the block from Gernika. Dan received the National Heritage Award in 2019 for his work promoting Basque music and food in Idaho. Dan's current restaurant, Ansots Basque Chorizos & Catering in Boise, was opened in September of 2020 and has been nominated four times as a James Beard semifinalist. Ansots, with Dan, his wife Tamara, and daughter Ellie, were named as finalists for the 2026 national James Beard category in Hospitality. Dan continues to teach Basque food and music and hopes to continue to contribute to the Basque communities throughout the West for years to come.

The Ansotegui Inchausti family has been a part of the Idaho Basque scene for over a century. In 1908, Dan’s grandfather jumped ship in New York and made his way out west to find work. He ended up on a ranch in southern Oregon herding sheep. In 1911, his betrothed, left Spain to be with him. The couple had four children, Antonio, Domingo (Dan’s dad), Francisca, and Julia. They moved to Nampa in 1920 and lived across from the Spanish Hotel, a Basque Boarding House run by the Jausoro Family. David Inchausti, Dan’s maternal grandfather, immigrated to the U.S. in 1922, working on the Drake Ranch between Challis and Mackay, Idaho. After time in Spain and getting married, he came back to earn the money and bring over his wife. She arrived in 1928 with their 2-year-old daughter. Although she was a seamstress by trade, Epi became the ranch’s head cook, and the Inchausti family took root. The family later moved to Hailey, David opened the Gem Bar and Epi started taking in Basque boarders. She became well known for her wonderful food as she served a few lucky diners each night if there was room. Ernest Hemingway, Bing Crosby, and Tennessee Ernie Ford, were among the famous who ate at Epi’s.

Click here to learn more about Dan from a story that came out in May 2026 in "Food & Wine."

John M. Ysursa, PhD

Presenter

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John M. Ysursa, PhD, a Boise native, John is the co-director of the Basque Global Collaborative at Boise State University. A veteran of Basque academic and cultural initiatives, Dr. Ysursa’s work often explores the intersection of heritage and history. He holds a particular interest in Basque culinary evolution, specifically how settlement patterns in the American sheep industry and local "terroir" have shaped unique regional flavors. This year marks his inaugural attendance at the Trailing of the Sheep Festival.

John is the son of immigrant Basques, and his grandparents ran The Valencia Basque Boarding House in Boise from the 1930s through the 1960s. John has written a book called Basque Dance.

Patty A. Miller

Presenter

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Patty A. Miller is the Basque Community History Project Director for the Basque Museum & Cultural Center. A third generation Idahoan of Basque ancestry, Patty has conducted educational programs and presentations for the museum and worked on the expansion of the museum’s collections and on outreach for exhibits for over twenty-two years in her role as Executive Director.

She oversaw the restoration of the historic house that is part of the Museum complex, worked on establishing the “Basque Block” area in downtown Boise and helped establish a language-immersion preschool in 1998 that is one of the off-site activities of the museum and cultural center. Patty stepped down as Executive Director in January 2016 to work with a team of researchers to document the histories of communities with a Basque presence in the American West. The Basque Community History Project includes collecting photographs, archival materials, and some artifacts as well as conducting video interviews with individuals. These materials have greatly expanded the Museum’s collections and are already contributing to exhibits being created. Much of the information is being made accessible to the public through the Museum’s website.