Heart and Soul Food

Chef Marcus Samuelsson on removing barriers to the industry and reshaping America's tastes

- by JANEÉ BOLDEN

COLLABORATIVE Samuelsson with Newsweek Editorin-Chief Jennifer H. Cunningham. Below: At Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival 2024.

WITH RESTAURANTS AROUND THE WORLD, A recognizable presence on TV and collaborations that bridge food, fashion and furniture design, Marcus Samuelsson's influence extends far beyond the kitchen.

But when he sits down with a room full of journalists at Newsweek’s New York offices, the chef, restaurateur and cultural architect is humble, reflective and candid about the journey that shaped him.

“I never really met bad food,” Samuelsson says with a smile. “I’ve met bad people. But food? It’s always been good to me.”

That affection for food—and for people—is what has fueled his 30-year journey in America. Born in Ethiopia, raised in Sweden by adoptive parents and forged in kitchens from Tokyo to Switzerland, before landing in Harlem, Samuelsson’s story is as layered as the dishes he creates.

His cross-continental upbringing taught him early on that identity is both inherited and invented. “I grew up in a very Swedish environment, but I’m Ethiopian. Those two cross-cultures were constant,” Samuelsson says. “We were the Samuelsson tribe—we just looked different.”

His cousins were Korean, his aunt Jewish, his parents white. But the bond of family and a home filled with foreign languages and love prepared him for a life that would require adaptability, grit and vision. His mother—central in shaping his early confidence—instilled in him a kind of resilience that would later fuel his global ambitions.