Marcus Samuelsson Biography

Fast Facts

• Was Executive Chef of Aquavit when it received the New York Times' 3-star rating in 1995, becoming the youngest chef to do so at the age of 23
• Won the Rising Star Chef Award from the James Beard Foundation in 1999
• Donated his winnings from "Top Chef Masters" to UNICEF'S Tap Project, which seeks to provide children in impoverished nations with clean and safe water sources
• Was the guest chef for President Barack Obama's first State Dinner in 2009, which was held in honor of the Prime Minister of India
• Studied at the Culinary Institute in Gothenburg, Sweden, and served as an apprentice in Switzerland
• Worked as an apprentice in France in 1993 before moving to America to apprentice at the Aquavit restaurant in 1994
• After his mother died of tuberculosis in Ethiopia, he and his sister were adopted by a Swedish couple, and he was later taught how to cook by his adoptive grandmother, Helga
• Also owns Ginny's Supper Club and the American Table Café and Bar, as well as its sister restaurant, the American Table Brasserie and Bar in Stockholm
• Best known as a celebrity chef who won "Top Chef Masters," was a contestant on "The Next Iron Chef" and is a judge on "Chopped․"
• Opened his first restaurant, Red Rooster Harlem, in 2010, which serves American comfort food with Swedish and Ethiopian influences