Celebrity Chef Marcus Samuelsson
Now unless you work in the industry, or are a food critic, or have just recently become an obsessive foodie (like myself), most people are too engaged in their conversations, to even take note of their server, much less the kitchen enigma responsible for filling your belly and satisfying those cravings. I don't expect you to know who Marcus Samuelsson is, especially since I only even discovered this fantastical individual at random, while exploring Chicago's best restaurant reviews.
This man is kind of a big deal.... OK a HUGE deal!!! Not only has he recently been spotted on TV network Bravo's Top Chef, but he's the youngest chef to receive two three-star ratings from the New York Times, a James Beard award for "Best Chef" in 2003 and among others, he's consecutively received four star reviews from annual 'Forbe's All Star Eateries' feature.
Though Mr. Samuelsson is currently among us Chicago-ans, one would never think it possible after learning about his tragic past. Ethiopia is known to be one of the most poverty stricken nations in the world; clean water is an absolute luxury, and disease runs afloat. When Marcus's parents passed of a lethal case of tuberculosis, he and his sister were stripped of any sort of protection, left orphan facing the wrath of Ethiopian contamination.
Fortunately, shortly after the death of his parents, both he and his sister were graciously adopted by a young couple, where they were raised in Gotheborg Sweden for most of their teenage years. He credits much of his passion for food to his grandmother who exposed him to different spices; she taught him how to differentiate between different spices, and when to pick ripe vegetables. At the age of 16 he knew he would pursue cooking as a profession like his grandma so his first job was in a cafe. He then decided to enroll in school at the Culinary Institute of Art in Sweden, where he worked nights and tended to his school work during the day. Upon graduation, he did an apprenticeship at fine dining establishments in both Switzerland and Austria before being invited to work under a famous chef in New York where he quickly gained recognition in the States.
Despite all of Samuelsson's accomplishments, he never forgot about his roots in Ethiopia. In collaboration with UNICEF, Marcus travels to his homeland to bring attention to the need for clean water. If there's anything he should be awarded for, it's philanthropic attitude about life.
If I have to spend hundred's of dollars dining at C-House, one of his newest fine dining establishments in the windy city, it will be well worth having shaken his hand and shown my absolute appreciation for his contributions and accomplishments.
Ps. If you go to his home website at, marcussamuelsson.com under news and events, you will see that he was invited by the Obama Administration, to prepare its first White House state dinner last November.
