”Sweden isn’t the same place it was 50 years ago – and that’s a good thing.”
‘I constantly evolve my Swedishness’
Published: 17 Jun 2015 09:01 GMT+02:00
The Swedish Chef.
The phrase may still make some people think of the Muppets, but increasingly it’s another image that comes to mind. Aquavit. New York. White House dinners.
Marcus Samuelsson.
Born in Ethiopia, Marcus ‘Joar’ Samuelsson was adopted by Swedish parents when he was three-years-old. He had a typical Swedish childhood in Gothenburg, dining on meatballs and spending summer evenings wandering in nature.
Now the 45-year-old has world-famous restaurants in New York, Chicago, Bermuda, Gothenburg, and Stockholm, and when The Local snags him he’s in the middle of opening his latest concept in Malmö.
But even in Harlem, New York – the place he currently calls home – his roots affect everything he does.
“I take my Swedishness with me in everything I do,” Samuelsson tells The Local.
NOTE: The former Swedish Chef was the mayor of Malmö, Ilmar Reepalu, infamous for his incitement against the Jews.
Just a pinch of himself will do.