Chef Marcus Samuelsson

By
Maurice Q. Boyd
April 24, 2013
 Chef Marcus Samuelsson was born in Ethiopia on January 25, 1970. He was
born Kassahun 'Joar' Tsegie. When Marcus was only 3 years old he lost his mother
during an outbreak of tuberculosis that spread throughout there native country. He and
sister found refuge at a Swedish field hospital in nearby Addis Ababa, Where they were
taken in by a nurse who arranged for their adoption by a young Sewdish couple from
Goteborg, Sweden. (2013,http://www.africansuccess.orgfield hospital/visuFiche.php?
id=845&lang=en). Marcus and his sister Fantaye, her name was changed to Linda,
were adopted by Anne Marie and Lennart Samuelsson. They took the children into there
home and marcus fell in love with cooking while in the kitchen with his adoptive
grandmother Helga, who herselve was a professional cook by trade. Samuelsson later
went on to study the culinary arts at The Culinary Institute of Goteborg. Shortly after
school he work as an apprentice in Switzerland, France, and Austria.(2013,
http://www.starchefs.com/cook/chefs/bio/marcus-samuelsson).

In 1991 Chef Samuelsson came to America and appenticed at the popular

Scandinavian fine cuisine restaurant by the name of Aquavit. He worked there as a
cook until 1995 when he was named executive chef of the well known restaurant. Three
months after taking the position Aquavit was awarded a three star rating for the busiling
establishment. Eight years later he was named “Best Chef: New York City” by the
James Beard Foundation.(2013,wikipedia.org/Marcus Samuelsson).

In addition to being one of many world renowed chefs, he is also the author of
many award winning cookbooks written in English and Swedish. Samuelsson is a
Visiting Professor of International Culinary Science at the Umeå University School of
Restaurant and Culinary Arts in Sweden. (2013,Wikipedia.org/Marcus Samuelsson).
His cooking has evolved into a blend of Southern American, Ethiopian and Swedish
flavors, seasonings and ethnic foods. Chef Samuelsson currently a partial owner of the
restaurant Aquavit and the current owner of Red Rooster Restaurant. Chef Samuelsson
also is a philatropist who raises money for many different causes, such as, UNICEF's
grassroots effort The Tap Project. (2013,Wikipedia.org/Marcus Samuelsson). On
November 24, 2009, Chef Samuelsson was invited to be a guest chef for President
Barack Obama’s first state dinner. It was there he and the white houses chef came up
with a menu that included fresh ingredients picked right from the White House garden
that had been started by first lady, Michelle Obama.
(2013,http://www.foodnetwork.com/marcus-samuelsson/bio/index.html).

Chef Samuelsson currently lives in Harlem, New York City near his newest
restaurant which he opened in 2010. He is currently married to Ethiopian model Maya
Haile. He also has a daughter , Zoe, they’ve gotten to know each other only in recent
years.(2013,http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/27/books/yes-chef-by-marcus-
samuelsson.html?_r=0). Chef Samuelsson during his lifetime has endured many
obstacles. The toughest being a male of African descent in his chosen profession. One
incident came when famous chef Gordon Ramsey spoke vicious racial insults to Chef
Samuelsson.(2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/27/books/yes-chef-by-marcus-
samuelsson.html?_r=0). He even harkens back to days as a young man in Sweden
where he grew up. In his memoir, “Yes Chef”, he speaks of other children using the
Swedish term Neger, which is the equivalent of Negro in English.(2013,
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/27/books/yes-chef-by-marcus-samuelsson.html?_r=0).
Chef Samuelsson has also appeared on many television shows such as Good Mourning
America, The Food Networks show Chopped as a guest judge, and in 2010 he won the
television cooking competition, Top Chef Masters blending Swedish and African
influences into dishes like hamachi meatballs with berbere, an Ethiopian spice mix.

You can easily see the influences of Chef Marcus Samuelsson’s cooking in just a
few of his recipes. A good example, tomato and watermelon salad with almond
vinaigrette. This dish is comprised of many different elements that include goat cheese,
capers, and mint leaves and parsley.

Chef Marcus Samuelsson has been a more recent influence on me personally. I

remember discovering Chef Samuelsson on a short lived TV show titled, “Urban
Cuisine” on BET J/Centric network. It is there I was educated to Chef Samuelsson's
style of cooking which seemed to blend old southern cooking and add different
influences of Ethiopian, and Scandinavian flavors, seasonings and cooking techniques.
There are few Chefs of African American descent with the notiriety in the culinary world.
His overall attention to detail and overall mastery of cooking are the two main reasons
he is such an influence to me.
 Works Cited

African Success, http://www.africansuccess.orgfield hospital/visuFiche.php?id=845&lang=en,

retrieved April 8, 2013.

Chef Marcus Samuelsson of Red Rooster Harlem Biography,

http://www.starchefs.com/cook/chefs/bio/marcus-samuelsson, Retrieved April 8, 2013.

Marcus Samuelsson, http://www.foodnetwork.com/marcus-samuelsson/bio/index.html, Retrieved

April 8, 2013.

Dwight Garner ,A Life Spent in Sugar and Spice‘Yes, Chef,’ a Memoir by Marcus Samuelsson,
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/27/books/yes-chef-by-marcus-samuelsson.html?_r=0,
retrieved April 8, 2013.

Marcus Samuelsson, www.wikipedia.org/MarcusSamuelsson, Retrieved April 8, 2013.