Marcus Samuelsson Biography

Marcus Samuelsson is an award-winning chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, food activist and philanthropist. He runs ‘Red Rooster’ restaurant in New York City's Harlem neighborhood and several other restaurants in the United States and Sweden. Samuelsson was born in Ethiopia, raised in Sweden and trained throughout Europe. When he was a child, his father warned him that as a black chef from Africa, establishing a career in the restaurant industry would be difficult and it was. One chef forced him to cook for his dog; he was insulted routinely in several different languages. Still he persevered. "It was my job to break down those barriers", Samuelsson said in a recent article for the ‘Associated Press’. "I carry many barriers, like being an immigrant, being from Africa. But it also gave me a focus and a work ethic. You have to be a little bit more precise".New York captured his heart because of the diversity the city offers. It's also where he found his wife. "New York City feels so much like home I almost feel like I grew up here", he says on his website. He loves to increase his knowledge about different foods and the dishes at ‘Red Rooster’ reflect that melding of cultures. To know more about his love of food read on