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Home > Prizes > Prize Recipients > Marcus Samuelsson

Marcus Samuelsson

2019 Vilcek Prize in Culinary Arts

Location

New York, NY

Title

Founder, Harlem EatUp!; Chef and owner, Red Rooster, New York and Red Rooster, London

Area(s) of Research

Upscale dining; American southern comfort; Scandinavian; African cuisines

Education

Culinary Institute, Gothenburg, Sweden

Country of Birth

Ethiopia

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Links to learn more about Marcus Samuelsson's work
  • marcussamuelsson.com

Tags
chef culinary arts ethiopia ethiopian cuisine harlem Red Rooster restaurateur scandinavian cuisine southern comfort southern food
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A photo of Marcus Samuelsson

For Marcus Samuelsson, cooking is about more than positive reviews and awards: It’s also about adding value to his community, celebrating diversity, and providing inroads for marginalized individuals.

“Food gives us huge windows into other people’s cultures,” he says. “Cooking is also one of these industries where you can be part of a journey, you can find your identity.”

Samuelsson was born in Ethiopia. When he was 2 1/2 years old, his mother walked him and his sister to the hospital — all three had tuberculosis, a disease that would take his mother’s life. A nurse took the siblings in, and they were soon adopted by a Swedish couple. Growing up in Gothenburg, Samuelsson fell in love with the culinary arts under the passionate tutelage of his adopted maternal grandmother, Helga.

A dish prepared by chef Marcus Samuelsson at his Harlem restaurant Red Rooster

By 18, Samuelsson landed his first culinary scholarship, which led to opportunities in Japan, Switzerland, Austria. After a year in the kitchen at Georges Blanc, a three-star Michelin restaurant in Lyon, Samuelsson decided to move on, hoping to open his own internationally respected restaurant.

His boss did not agree with this plan.

“‘Frankly, it’s not possible for a black man to own a high-standard restaurant,’” Samuelsson says he was told.

Chef Marcus Samuelsson in the kitchen at Red Rooster in New York City

Rather than be dissuaded, he saw the dearth of black-owned high-end restaurants as an opportunity to break down that barrier — for himself and for all people of color. He decided Europe was too rooted in outdated tradition to host such an establishment, and headed to New York City.

Samuelsson became executive chef of Aquavit, a high-end Nordic restaurant. After winning numerous accolades for his work, he fulfilled his dream of opening his own restaurants — most famously Red Rooster, an upscale Harlem soul food restaurant established in 2011, which immediately became a New York institution.

Awards and Accomplishments

  • New York Times best-selling memoir Yes, Chef, which won the 2013 James Beard Award for Writing and Literature
  • Youngest chef ever to receive a three-star review from the New York Times
  • James Beard Award: Best Chef in New York City (2003)
  • Oversaw first state dinner of Obama administration
  • Host of No Passport Required, a six-part PBS series
  • Serves on the board of New York’s City Harvest, a nonprofit group dedicated to rescuing surplus food to feed hungry residents
  • Co-chairs the Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP)

A photo of Marcus Samuelsson in Ginny's Supper Club in New York City

Being an immigrant in the U.S. means being American. That’s what makes this such a beautiful country.

—Marcus Samuelsson

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Tags
chef culinary arts ethiopia ethiopian cuisine harlem Red Rooster restaurateur scandinavian cuisine southern comfort southern food

Jury Members

2019 Vilcek Prize in Culinary Arts

Michael Anthony

Executive Chef, Gramercy Tavern

Tom Colicchio

Chef and Owner, Crafted Hospitality

Mitchell Davis

Chief Strategy Officer, The James Beard Foundation

Andrew Knowlton

Deputy Editor and Restaurant Reviewer, Bon Appétit

Kata Krader

Food Editor, Bloomberg News

Nilou Motamed

Cofounder, Story Collective
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