Meet Marcus Samuelsson

My journey to becoming a chef was a circuitous one. I was born in Ethiopia and adopted by a Swedish family after my mother died in a tuberculosis epidemic when I was three years old. My Swedish grandmother was a terrific cook -- she'd worked at an inn on the Swedish coast where she cooked three meals a day, six days a week for several years -- and by the time I was six, I was spending countless hours with her in the kitchen. She had an immense respect for food and and passed along her knowledge and passion for fine ingredients and flawless techniques. We made breads and cookies and all the traditional Swedish dishes like gravlax, meatballs, and salt-cured duck. I loved everything she prepared, so it came as no surprise to anyone when I decided to become a chef and enrolled in cooking school at 14. I went on to apprentice in France, Austria, and Switzerland before landing as executive chef of Aquavit in 1996.
At Aquavit, I blend the traditional Swedish cooking of my childhood with classic French techniques, the exacting precision of traditional Austrian pastry making, and the exciting flavors I've discovered in New York and on my travels. Because a good meal should engage all the senses, I think it's important to add exciting flavors for the palate and dramatic impact for the eyes. I'm always looking for new and interesting ways to add excitement to food presentation, whether it's serving fish on glass blocks that conjure up images of ice or using tiles to present small bites of food that people can eat with their hands. It's less formal, more interesting, and a whole lot more fun.
My cooking is a very personal reflection of my life, combining European, American, and African influences with inspiration from my travels around the world. I look forward to sharing these influences with you here on Yahoo! and to hearing about your own adventures in the kitchen. Please send in your thoughts, questions, and recipe requests and let's inspire each other to discover a wonderful world of flavors