December 29, 2008

Give me Couscous, Love me Good


Now there he goes again, the Dopest Ethiopian. I'm talking about Chef Marcus Samuelsson. Mmmm...there is something about a man who looks like that AND can cook. Tasty and talented? Whoo! He had me at Hello. As I've said before, I'm a bit of a foodie so I've been known to follow the careers of some of the top chefs in the industry. Marcus is a bit of an anomoly. He was born Kassahun Tsegie in Ethopia before he lost his mother to Tubercolosis and was adopted by a couple who lived in Sweden, hence the name change.

He apprenticed at the Culinary Institute in Austria and Switzerland before he came to New York to work for Aquavit Restaurant. Quickly, he became the executive chef and at 24 was the youngest chef ever to receive a three-star restaurant review from The New York Times. In short, the man is the Tiger Woods of the gourmet world. His cooking combines international influences with traditional cuisines from Sweden to Japan and Africa. He never lost his roots to strictly European cuisine. In fact- he pimped the system when he introduced his own cultural dominion to what was usually "snobbish" food. Now, I could go on and on about his accomplishments but seriously- I just want to talk about how good it is to know that a man that fine can also cook.

One of these days, I'm going to make it to Aquavit to sample some of his delectable goods...and I may even order some food, too. In the meantime, I'll put my own spin on his Seared Salmon with beets and potatoes and feed someone just as- if not sexier by far than Chef Samuelsson. One thing's for sure. I don't need his recipe for Chocolate Marzipan Terrine with Pistachio Ice Cream. I have some Milk Chocolate just within reach that is smoother than Nutella. Some desserts need no spoon... and got flava like prailines, Yahnahmean? Damn. I just made myself hungry.

4 comments:

Eve said...

Why did you have to remind me of his divine presence on this earth? Umph, I love that man!

Jayne Neverow said...

Yeah- he's the shiznit. It's okay Married Lady, you can admit it.

cferna said...

Aquavit is around the corner from my job. We go there 2-3 times a month (on Fridays) to have our weekly meetings. We often see Marcus Samuelsson walking around in the restaurant while we talk about work and enjoy some of the best lychee martinis (my choice) and Manhattans (everyone else in the team) in NYC. If you want to get an in person glance, you should definitely stop by the restaurant, a sighting is close to guaranteed.

Anonymous said...

Don't know if you know...
http://www.ethiopianreview.com/content/2009/01/ethiopian-named-candidate-for-white-house-chef/