by Chandra Clewley

 

Marcus Samuelsson has such a varied background it is a wonder he could have the razor sharp focus that we came to know him for in Top Chef Masters Season 2.  The multiple James Beard award winner and youngest receiver of 3 star ratings from the New York Times Magazine sat down with Reality Wanted to dish out what his experience was like this season and what it was like taking the win last night.

 

Q. Chandra, Reality Wanted: Your background is so various. What would you say most influenced your style of cooking?

A. Marcus: In my Swedish upbringing, my grandmother being a cook and also of course, being from Ethiopia is something that I bring with me as well. And being from America. All of those things allowed me to fulfill my creativity and my vision. It is all a part of who I am. 

 

Q. Chandra, Reality Wanted: How did the opportunity come about to be on Top Chef Masters?

A. Marcus: I was asked as a chef to do it, and I thought it was a great opportunity. The first time they asked I couldn’t do it; there was just too much going on with the restaurant. So the next time they asked I was super excited to be a part of it and it was something that I really appreciate. It is not often that you can tell your personal narrative of your life across the nation like that. 

 

Q. Chandra, Reality Wanted: Let’s touch on teamwork because it seemed to come up early on with you with Carmen. Do you think you are a good team player?

A. Marcus:   Absolutely. We all were there working really hard and obviously with Carmen’s incident, I helped out equally but it wasn’t shown. It is also a competition, so at the end of the day I think I did very well. 

 

Q. Chandra, Reality Wanted: What was it like winning your James Beards?

A. Marcus:  This is very similar. You have milestones in your life. I have been lucky enough to win those James Beard Awards, and I was thinking about that last night. This is very similar, but in a different way. It is a real accomplishment. Doing the State dinner was an accomplishment. Winning my James Beards were accomplishments. Winning Top Chef Masters was an accomplishment.  There are a lot of people that make it happen for me too, that work behind the scenes so I make sure to thank them too.

 

Q. Chandra, Reality Wanted: You seem really determined. At what point did you decide that you had to win this competition?

A. Marcus: All of these chefs, we don’t come to where we are without being extremely determined. Most of us come from extremely humble backgrounds, and we have to fight through a lot of different things to be on top of our game. I think that I paid for that. At this particular time, at Top Chef Masters, it helped me.  I will always do my best and that goes back to my work ethic and I think that came through with me. I think that that came through with all of the chefs, just to get to Top Chef Masters.

 

Q. Chandra, Reality Wanted: Tell me a little bit about Ethiopian food and what it typically involves?

A. Marcus:  In general, African food is not known because we haven’t gone aboard that much and we don’t trade with Africa that much but I think that will change. We have been seeing the same changes with Asian food over the past 30 years, and other cuisines. Ethiopian food in particular is based on a spice called Berbere, which is sort of a chili blend that is in almost all of the dishes and Injera which is a soft sourdough, pancake like bread that you eat with your hands.  And then there are a couple of different stews. As I tried to explain last night, the food might be different in terms of texture and it might be heavier, but as with sushi and with Indian food we will learn new taste buds with African food. It’s not going to be done overnight, but what a huge opportunity to explain it over national television. I am really thankful to be part of changing the landscape of American cooking. 

Q. Chandra, Reality Wanted: On the finale, you didn’t cut corners on the food. How long have you been making this type of food?

A. Marcus:  I felt like we had a challenge and it wasn’t just about cooking yummy food, we can all do that.  We all are extremely talented chefs.  It was also about cooking for the challenge that we were given, with my (first course) Char dish I showed that, and with the (second course) Duck that really came through.  I felt really strong and positive about that, so I felt strong.  When it came to the last dish, I knew it would be a curveball, but it could also be the curveball that would make me win everything or make me lose it. It could also be the one thing that would put me over the edge and luckily in this case it did help me. 

Q. Chandra, Reality Wanted: What is next for you?

A. Marcus:  I am opening Red Rooster here in Harlem. Opening a restaurant in an area where I live and work, I am very happy about that. It will open this fall. 

 

 

(Image courtesy of Bravo)

 

Follow Chandra at twitter.com/ChandraClewley

 

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