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Cooking and Conversation with Marcus Samuelsson
James Beard Award-winning chef and Owner of the famed Red Rooster MARCUS SAMUELSSON loves to cook for a crowd. Samuelsson expertly balances an insightful and inspiring moderated conversation with an interactive live cooking demo, engaging audiences of all kinds. This unique and memorable format can be programmed in person or virtually.
Virtual Interactive Cooking Demos with Chef Marcus Samuelsson
James Beard Award-winning Chef and Owner of the Red Rooster MARCUS SAMUELSSON loves to cook for a crowd. In his virtual cooking demonstrations he shows guests how to make something for a special occasion or how to upgrade that cozy Tuesday night supper - even if using ingredients you have in your fridge. Marcus can share the recipes and ingredients in advance so guests can cook along. Cooking and chatting with Samuelsson feels like having a friend in your kitchen, and is a special treat for your guests.
Yes, Chef
MARCUS SAMUELSSON was only three years old when he, his mother, and his sister—all battling tuberculosis—walked seventy-five miles to a hospital in the Ethiopian capital city of Addis Adaba. Tragically, his mother succumbed to the disease shortly after she arrived, but Marcus and his sister recovered, and one year later they were welcomed into a loving middle-class white family in Göteborg, Sweden. It was there that Marcus’s new grandmother, Helga, sparked in him a lifelong passion for food and cooking with her pan-fried herring, her freshly baked bread, and her signature roast chicken. From a very early age, there was little question what Marcus was going to be when he grew up.
In this inspiring speech, Samuelsson shares his remarkable journey from Helga’s humble kitchen to some of the most demanding and cutthroat restaurants in Switzerland and France, from his grueling stints on cruise ships to his arrival in New York City, where his outsize talent and ambition finally come together at Aquavit, earning him a coveted New York Times three-star rating at the age of twenty-four.
But Samuelsson’s career of “chasing flavors,” as he calls it, had only just begun—in the intervening years, there have been White House state dinners, career crises, reality show triumphs and, most important, the opening of the beloved Red Rooster in Harlem. At Red Rooster, Samuelsson has fufilled his dream of creating a truly diverse, multiracial dining room—a place where presidents and prime ministers rub elbows with jazz musicians, aspiring artists, bus drivers, and nurses. It is a place where an orphan from Ethiopia, raised in Sweden, living in America, can feel at home. With disarming honesty and intimacy, Samuelsson also opens up about his failures—the price of ambition, in human terms—and recounts his emotional journey, as a grown man, to meet the father he never knew. The audience experiences a tale of personal discovery, unshakable determination, and the passionate, playful pursuit of flavors—one man’s struggle to find a place for himself in the kitchen, and in the world.
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Success Story: Celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson delivers an incredible program with his inspiring conversations and entertaining live cooking demos
James Beard award-winning chef MARCUS SAMUELSSON offers a marvelous program balancing inspiring moderated conversation with a highly engaging live cooking demo, receiving rave reviews. Whether the event is programmed in person or virtually, the acclaimed chef and owner of multiple lauded restaurants including Red Rooster Harlem inspires and entertains audiences of all kinds. As one host raved, “You were utterly amazing. Added depth and perspective. We can’t thank you enough!” (Crain’s New York Business) In a recent program for a major financial institution, Samuelsson shared his journey – from his childhood in Ethiopia, to growing up with his adopted family in Sweden, to becoming a globally renowned culinary thought leader – offering insights about the determination, following your passion, and celebrating culture through food. He then seamlessly transitioned to a thoroughly delightful live cooking demo, engaging the audience and offering a memorable and interactive session.
The beloved host of No Passport Required expertly delivers this unique format, making a major impact. The host raved, “Marcus delivered an amazing session! His conversation with our moderator was fluid and insightful. Marcus opened up for Q&A at the end of the presentation and we had really great engagement from the audience as well. With our event including a lot of business content, the session was a perfect way to mix things up and keep our audience engaged.”
Watch Marcus Samuelsson balance cooking and conversation at The Whitney >>
Marcus Samuelsson shares his struggle to find a place for himself in the kitchen, and in the world
MARCUS SAMUELSSON was only three years old when he, his mother, and his sister—all battling tuberculosis—walked seventy-five miles to a hospital in the Ethiopian capital city of Addis Adaba. Tragically, his mother succumbed to the disease shortly after she arrived, but Marcus and his sister recovered, and one year later they were welcomed into a loving middle-class white family in Göteborg, Sweden. It was there that Marcus’s new grandmother, Helga, sparked in him a lifelong passion for food and cooking with her pan-fried herring, her freshly baked bread, and her signature roast chicken. From a very early age, there was little question what Marcus was going to be when he grew up.
Samuelsson shares his remarkable journey from Helga’s humble kitchen to some of the most demanding and cutthroat restaurants in Switzerland and France, from his grueling stints on cruise ships to his arrival in New York City, where his outsize talent and ambition finally come together at Aquavit, earning him a coveted New York Times three-star rating at the age of twenty-four.
But Samuelsson’s career of “chasing flavors,” as he calls it, had only just begun—in the intervening years, there have been White House state dinners, career crises, reality show triumphs and, most important, the opening of the beloved Red Rooster in Harlem. At Red Rooster, Samuelsson has fufilled his dream of creating a truly diverse, multiracial dining room—a place where presidents and prime ministers rub elbows with jazz musicians, aspiring artists, bus drivers, and nurses. It is a place where an orphan from Ethiopia, raised in Sweden, living in America, can feel at home. With honesty and intimacy, Samuelsson also opens up about his failures—the price of ambition, in human terms—and recounts his emotional journey, as a grown man, to meet the father he never knew. The audience experiences a tale of personal discovery, unshakable determination, and the passionate, playful pursuit of flavors—one man’s struggle to find a place for himself in the kitchen, and in the world.
Award-Winning Chef, Restaurateur, Author, Activist
Marcus Samuelsson is the esteemed chef behind many restaurants worldwide, including Red Rooster Harlem and Red Rooster Overtown in Miami; Hav & Mar in the Chelsea Arts District; Metropolis at the Perelman Performing Arts Center in lower Manhattan; “Marcus” restaurants in Atlanta and New Jersey, plus several international locations including The Bahamas, Canada, and Ethiopia as well as numerous Streetbird and Vibe BBQ outlets in the US and Bahamas. Samuelsson was the youngest person ever to receive a three-star review from The New York Times. He has won eight James Beard Foundation Awards and was the guest chef for the Obama Administration’s first state dinner.
In 2023, Marcus earned an Emmy Award for the Short Form Program “My Mark.” He is a longstanding judge and TV personality on the hit Food Network show Chopped, head judge of Top Chef: Family Style, and an Iron Chef on Netflix’s rebooted Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend, and makes frequent appearances on Scandinavian TV. Samuelsson served as host and producer of the Seat at the Table audio series on Audible and co-host of This Moment podcast with Swedish rapper Timbuktu on Acast. He is the author of multiple books including The New York Times bestseller Yes, Chef: A Memoir as well as the critically acclaimed The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food.
To complement his professional commitments, Samuelsson is co-chair of Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), which focuses on helping underserved youth. He participates in lectures globally, most recently with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The New York Times during Climate Week NYC 2024.
Follow Samuelsson on Instagram, Facebook, and X at @MarcusCooks and on TikTok at @Marcus_Cooks
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