- 1 week ago
A fireside chat with celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson.
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00:00Give it up for the amazing chef, Marcus Samuelsson.
00:10Hey.
00:11Hey, Marcus.
00:12How are you?
00:13I'm doing good.
00:13Thanks so much for coming.
00:15It's good to see you, too.
00:16It's wonderful to be here.
00:17Yeah.
00:18I feel like I catch you in every city from Montreal, Toronto.
00:22Can we just talk about Miss Pat LaBelle last night?
00:25Oh, my goodness.
00:25How amazing was that?
00:27I mean, we had the double queens.
00:28We had Janet, of course.
00:30Yes.
00:30And Miss Pat LaBelle was absolutely amazing.
00:33It was amazing.
00:34I want to know where she gets her energy from.
00:36Listen.
00:36I need to get that breakfast line because she could sing.
00:40Yes, of course.
00:42And also, big shout-out to all the people that worked at Essence Festival.
00:48It's a whole year of production.
00:49And you know there's a lot of people behind the scenes, students, volunteers in the city of New Orleans to make this happen.
00:54Yeah.
00:55And it's such an amazing vibe to come here and see, what, 500,000 black folks and others coming together and celebrating each other.
01:05We need that joy.
01:06We need that.
01:06And learning about new, young entrepreneurs or not-so-young entrepreneurs is just a great gathering spot.
01:11It is.
01:12It is.
01:13I have never seen so many beautiful black people in one space.
01:17Yeah.
01:17And I love it.
01:17I absolutely love it.
01:19But, I mean, one place where I did feel that energy was at your restaurants.
01:23Oh, nice.
01:24That's nice.
01:24Yes.
01:25Anytime I stepped into Red Rooster in Harlem, you just see that.
01:29People, you know, they're just ready to show up, show out, and the food matches their energy.
01:34So, I want to know, how did you start?
01:36Like, how did you actually get into the restaurant space?
01:40I think it's about allowing yourself to dream, right?
01:43When you walk around here at the Essence Festivals, you see a lot of people with big visions and dreams.
01:48People come together, and they allow themselves to dream.
01:52I was just, I had breakfast this morning with Stella Reese, which is Leah Chase's, from Duke and Chase's daughter.
02:00Wow.
02:00And they've only had their business for 85 years.
02:03You know this, right?
02:05Think about that.
02:05Only 85 years, yeah.
02:06And their great-grandmother started the business as a po'boy stand across the street, right?
02:13And now, five generations later, they're on Uber Eats and part of Essence Festival, right?
02:19So, the generational know-how about entrepreneurship, but also, they dreamt.
02:26That was a lady that said, hey, I can do po'boys better than the next person.
02:30Yes.
02:30And I just think it's, we have in the black community, we have stories like that, that we all need to celebrate.
02:36Now, that's why I think it's amazing with partnership like Harlem Eat Up and Harlem Eats and Essence Eats,
02:43because it's all about telling incredible stories, right?
02:48Like, out here, you see all these entrepreneurs, and you can look up to someone like Slotter Vegan, right,
02:54that went on a journey and made it, and now she's going to be all over the country, right?
02:58Yeah.
02:58But that wouldn't have started without a vision and a mission and a dream.
03:02That's true.
03:02So, I guess it all starts with that dream.
03:05You had to believe in yourself.
03:06And I had a lot of support, you know?
03:08Like, no one, I love when, you have to acknowledge the tribe, right?
03:12I'm here because a lot of people saw something in me way before I knew about it.
03:17Like, I was just a kid in Scandinavia, and I got a scholarship to go to travel.
03:22But I have my grandparents, I have my parents, and I had a lot of people that invested in me.
03:27And without that tribe, you know, that is global at this point, because it was in Sweden, it was in France, and now it's in Harlem, and so on.
03:36I wouldn't be here talking to you.
03:39Yeah, I mean, your journey has been incredible from Ethiopia.
03:43From a hut in Ethiopia.
03:44A hut in Ethiopia, yes.
03:45Another house, a hut.
03:46A hut in Ethiopia to being adopted.
03:49Yes.
03:49Moving to Scandinavia, and then somehow you ended up in Harlem.
03:54Yes.
03:54And opened up this incredible, you know, restaurant.
03:57Can you talk a little bit about how you incorporate those roots into the food that you make and the products?
04:02I mean, I think the blessings of being black, you know, is multitude and is different for all of us, right?
04:10But for me, I go back to that hut, and I get inspired.
04:13It scares me, but also I get inspired.
04:16And I remember, at A Real, we all have roads and choices.
04:21And I remember when I worked in a three-star Michelin restaurant in France, chef said to me, hey, go home, come back, and work for us for another year for free.
04:30And I said, I can't do that.
04:31It's time for me to start my own journey.
04:33And he said, well, as a black kid, you can't own a restaurant.
04:38You can work in a restaurant.
04:40And that gave me clarity that I had to go.
04:44I had to leave.
04:46I had to go to the United States.
04:47I had to specifically go to New York City.
04:49And because I couldn't lower my dream.
04:52I couldn't lower my vision.
04:54You know, my goal was one day to own a restaurant.
04:57And he made it very clear.
04:58He said, do you know any black person own a restaurant in France?
05:00I said, no.
05:01Do you know anyone in Europe?
05:03No.
05:03But I'm like, I'm 23.
05:04I don't know a lot of people.
05:05And he's like, that's your answer.
05:07So that kind of was a motivating drive for me for a long time.
05:11It's like, you know what?
05:11I'm going to do this.
05:12I'm going to be able to do it.
05:13Wow.
05:14I mean, you proved him right.
05:16I don't know where he's at right now.
05:18But he might be sitting in one of your, like,
05:20We know it's not about being bitter.
05:21It's like, that's like, okay.
05:23That was maybe the spark.
05:26And then it's about how do you, every single one person here has been, had roadblocks.
05:31Yeah.
05:32Have had challenges come and opportunities taken away.
05:35And at those moments, you feel hurt.
05:37But how do you evolve from that?
05:39Like, and that's also what makes our stories so important to share.
05:42And I really love that Essence allows this platform, because it is about learning from
05:49one another, sharing mistakes, sharing our network, right?
05:54You know, I was lucky last night to walk the floor and watch Patty and Miss Janet with Sidra,
06:02for example, that worked behind the scene on putting this together.
06:04Yeah.
06:05Sidra is like a walking network.
06:07Yes.
06:08Like, she knows everybody, right?
06:09She does, yes.
06:09But it's also a beautiful indication of how we should operate.
06:12Oh, you know that person?
06:13I'm going to connect you to that person.
06:15Because that's how small business, every person that is here is a walking small network,
06:19small business and a walking small network, right?
06:21Yes.
06:21And if we connect, you can grow the business.
06:24Exactly.
06:25That is true.
06:25I mean, that's great to hear.
06:27Because there's so many good food spots in New Orleans.
06:30Like, there's things that I could see taking, you know, over the world.
06:33Like, literally.
06:34Like, this food here is incredible.
06:35And being in New Orleans, too.
06:36Like, think about, we know, of course, this is the birthplace of jazz.
06:40But also, at least two original cuisines, right?
06:44You think about Creole cooking, right?
06:46Originated from New Orleans.
06:48Cajun as well comes out of here.
06:49And you can think about Southern food has also inspiration from here.
06:54So this city alone has three original African-American cuisines.
07:00Two of them really originated in African-American culture in this one city.
07:04Think a amount of black people anonymously worked, right?
07:08They never get written about.
07:10They never had a chance to, you know, just anonymously.
07:13It's important for us to share those stories, to highlight the Leah chases of the world and so on.
07:20Because without their journey, our journey wouldn't have been possible.
07:24That's true.
07:24They definitely set the foundation.
07:26And they added so much flavor to my life, really.
07:29Yes, yes.
07:30Which I think you've done very well with your restaurants.
07:33But it takes a lot to go from one restaurant to an empire of several.
07:38And to keep them, like, successful and thriving.
07:41What has kept you going in this journey?
07:43Like, how did you get from one spot to the next spot and the third spot, you know?
07:48Well, I think it's all about what you would like to do.
07:52But then also you have to build a team, you know?
07:54I wouldn't be here without my teammates and team members from MSG and a lot of partners, right?
07:59Because, you know, also my, I'm inspired by my neighbor.
08:05I happen to live in the village of Harlem, right?
08:08So you wake up, you walk to work, you have Mr. Dapper Dan on the corner talking to young entrepreneurs how to build a business.
08:16I meet, like, Thelma Golden from the Studium Museum.
08:19I meet Bevy Smith.
08:20These are not just patrons and families to the restaurant.
08:23These are all self-made people that you can, that teaches us a lot, right?
08:28And it helps that half a block north of me is an incredible, iconic restaurant like Sylvia's, right?
08:34So you watch how the Woods family has taken care of the business.
08:39You know, it started in 1962 with a $5,000 loan, Johnson's Diner, right?
08:43So those are American, African-American superheroes to me.
08:48Just the way we know a sports team or, you know, people know maybe, like, Beyonce's latest record.
08:55I know black chefs like that.
08:57You know what I mean?
08:58They are the superheroes that made it possible for me, right?
09:02Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
09:03And I love Beyonce, too, though.
09:05Yeah, I know.
09:06I love Beyonce, too, though.
09:07Get it right.
09:08Get it right.
09:09You know what?
09:09The first time I saw Beyonce was actually here at Essence Festival.
09:12There you go.
09:12Nine years ago.
09:13There you go.
09:13Yes, this is the spot to be at.
09:16So, like, you've talked a little bit about the importance of a team, how that's actually
09:20what is going to propel you to the next level and help you sustain this business.
09:24But then sometimes things happen that are outside of our control.
09:27Things happen like COVID, you know, and a pandemic, and that really hit the restaurant industry
09:33hard.
09:34How do you, how did you deal with that?
09:36And how did you keep going?
09:38Well, I think that on a, there was two, several things going on, right?
09:43But it was the personal side and your family's mental health and your health, and then the
09:49business side.
09:49And they merge when you're an entrepreneur.
09:51There's not one without the other.
09:52And in the beginning, it was, and we still, I think everyone in here is still dealing
09:58with how to navigate out of it, right?
10:01Yes.
10:01I was fortunate to, was friends with her, a friend with her, an incredible chef, Jose
10:07Andres, in World Center Kitchen.
10:09I called Jose.
10:11He said, we know how to serve safely.
10:14So, we actually converted Red Rooster and Marcus B&P in Newark to community kitchens early
10:20March of 2020.
10:22And, you know, a couple of weeks before that, or after that, a friend of mine passed away
10:27in COVID.
10:28So, it hit our community very, very hard.
10:31And together with World Central Kitchen, we served in Harlem, 220,000 portions of food
10:37for our community.
10:38You know, the line every day was 300 people, then it was 500 people, then it was 1,000 people.
10:43Wow.
10:43And the line changed, right?
10:44Like, it became a hub where people from all over the city came to eat, because they knew
10:49there would be food there.
10:51But, you know, again, I couldn't have done that.
10:53We couldn't have done that without the tribe of all the incredible people that decided every
10:58morning to put gloves on, masks on, and show up.
11:01Yes.
11:01Show up for their community.
11:02And I think the work during COVID really helped me to center me and focus around, okay, what's
11:10next?
11:11And I know you asked me what's next.
11:12And for us, we're actually opening a new seafood restaurant in Chelsea in a couple of
11:17months.
11:18Oh.
11:18With, it's really, really exciting.
11:22With an all-black female chef and general manager leadership team.
11:29Wow.
11:29Just converting this.
11:31Okay.
11:31Taking the page from Essence Inspirations, absolutely, yeah.
11:34I love this.
11:35Yes.
11:36Hey, if you need a female taste tester, I'm here, I'm available.
11:38Yes, you will be there.
11:39Yeah.
11:39Yes.
11:40So maybe next year's Essence, our new restaurant would be down here.
11:43Oh, man.
11:44You know, at the Essence Festival.
11:45That would be incredible.
11:47You guys, we've got to try this.
11:48Yes.
11:49So I love that you were able to take the business that you've grown, and during one of the hardest
11:55times that this industry ever, ever had, you were still able to give back.
11:59Yeah.
12:00But you've been giving back for a long time, and I would love to know from you, like, what
12:05are some of those powerful moments that you've had with young chefs, people that you've poured
12:09into, and then you've seen it, you know, grow?
12:11Well, I was starting to say, with blackness, there's a lot of strength, right?
12:15We, through generations, have gone through very, very difficult times, but yet come out
12:19and doing really, really well.
12:21So I draw a lot of strength from meeting cuz, sisters, brothers here, because I know each
12:26one has worked really, really hard to get to where they're at, right, and have stories
12:31that are not exactly, you know, blackness is obviously not monolithic, but we all share
12:36this, that it's been a journey and a struggle.
12:38So I say that because that's really the root of everything, and you say giving back, you're
12:43talking to someone that is adopted, and also an immigrant, right?
12:48So without laws changing, without civil rights movement changing in America, without laws
12:53for immigrants, not being perfect, but being better, I wouldn't be here.
12:57So there's a lot of gratitude, first of all, that comes in to being an American, to be African
13:02American, for me, because without the generation before me, like Leah's restaurant was actually
13:08breaking the law for a long time, because it was the first restaurant in America that
13:12served black and white people.
13:13Wow.
13:14Right?
13:14So there's a struggle they had to go through.
13:16So I know this, and I think about this, so when you have that history at the bottom,
13:20right, you should give back.
13:23Yeah.
13:24I'm extremely fortunate to be able to live out my dream.
13:27And also, there's a lot of things about it that, you know, my work ethic came from my
13:32family, but, you know, I have a lot of supporters, like this event, you know, put together by, sponsored
13:39and helped by WW, for example, right?
13:42And I say that because without sponsors, without work, cross the aisles, you know, these things
13:51doesn't happen, and doesn't happen for us.
13:53And since we don't have the same generational wealth, we need other means and other collaborators
13:58to come together, you know, like when we built Harlem Eat Up in Harlem eight years ago, we
14:04knew that we had to collaborate with everybody.
14:06And I mean, from the parks to the churches to the aunties, right?
14:10And when I look at this, this is exactly the same thing with this incredible vision of bringing
14:16our culture together and hear each other's stories.
14:18So if you're in that lucky position, you have to give back.
14:21Yeah, that's true.
14:23I think that's incredible.
14:24I feel like even, too, like the kitchens that you have, the opportunities that you give young
14:28black chefs in your restaurants, you're just pouring into them.
14:31Whether or not they see you or not, that's an opportunity that leads to more.
14:35Now, when it comes to food, I'm taking a little detour off of the empire.
14:40You can do it, yes, yes, yes.
14:41Because we're at Essence Eats, you know?
14:43Yes.
14:43And I think people have a lot of strong opinions to food, especially when it comes to black food.
14:48Okay, good, I like it.
14:50I like, we should, that's we should.
14:51Yes.
14:52We are opinionated.
14:53Exactly.
14:53We're allowed to be.
14:54Exactly.
14:55So I know with you, you've done a couple of twists on Ethiopian food that were different.
14:59These were things I had never seen before.
15:01I said, what?
15:02You put berbera here?
15:03You put it there?
15:04I want to know from you, like, what are your rules in the kitchen?
15:06What are some things that you say, like, you've got to do this or you're just willing
15:11to break the rule?
15:11Well, I mean, delicious wins, right?
15:13Like, it has to be delicious, right?
15:15Like, no matter what.
15:16And then, if you cook around holidays, I think culture wins, right?
15:20You have to kind of, the why are we eating this, right?
15:23Like, I think, you know, being Ethiopian, we have a lot of holidays where food is the center,
15:30spirituality is the center, and the food is kind of the dishes that we cook around that,
15:33whether you're Christian, Jewish, or Muslim, we all, it starts with the food and the spirituality.
15:38Yeah.
15:38In America, you basically have, I would say, three eating holidays, right?
15:43You have Thanksgiving.
15:44Yep.
15:45Yep.
15:45You have kind of, First of July is kind of this moment where people come together and
15:50grill.
15:51Yeah.
15:51And you have Super Bowl, right?
15:53You know?
15:54How did anyone consider that one?
15:55And it's a very different way of coming together, but it is the way of coming together.
16:03And I just feel like you have to honor the moment and the culture around it.
16:06Okay.
16:07So, what I'm hearing from you is that you're open.
16:10You're cool with changing up the flavors when needed.
16:12Delicious wins.
16:13That's all I'm going to say.
16:13Delicious wins.
16:14I love this.
16:15Okay.
16:15Delicious wins.
16:15Okay.
16:16Because we saw some interesting takes here on the Essence Eat stage.
16:19Good.
16:19And I know we're going to have some more later today as well.
16:21Well, I mean, you know, food is essentially, especially black food, because our journeys are
16:25not one, right?
16:26You could be, of course, coming through from the Great Migration and that journey.
16:34You could be Caribbean coming through.
16:35You could obviously be, you could be Mexican and black.
16:39Like, there's so many different issues of us, right?
16:41Yeah.
16:41So, why should we have one food?
16:43Like, it's, we don't have one language.
16:44We don't have one spirituality.
16:45So, same thing with food.
16:47So, I think as long as you honor your family and it is delicious, you're going to do great.
16:53That's good to know.
16:54Okay.
16:54So, I'm going to do some more experimenting.
16:56Yeah.
16:56I'm going to get some spices out here.
16:59Now, back to, like, building the empire.
17:02You've been in this industry for how long?
17:03Can you tell us how many years?
17:04I think longer than you've been alive.
17:06Whoa.
17:08See, black doesn't crack.
17:09Okay.
17:10So, how did you stay, like, what is your key to being resilient?
17:15How do you actually stay a mainstay in this industry?
17:19I mean, I go back to my aunties, like, Leah and Sylvia.
17:25If your love is the craft, right?
17:26Look at Pat LaBelle last night, right?
17:29Yeah.
17:29She loves what she does.
17:30My love is music and singing, right?
17:32No one has to tell her that.
17:34It's so clear when she's on stage.
17:35My love is food and people.
17:38So, you know, things will come.
17:40People will come.
17:41Successes will come.
17:42Successes will go.
17:43But if you have a love for the craft and always curious about evolving and educating yourself
17:49and the team, you're going to be busy and have fun for the rest of your life.
17:53You know, like, for me, when we started Red Rooster, I knew it was the starting point in Harlem
17:57to just evolve and see what's possible.
18:00Then starting off Harlem at our food festival.
18:02It's a different way of engaging a community, right?
18:05But writing books, it's a different way of engaging, connecting with an audience.
18:10You know, being an Iron Chef, it's a different way, right?
18:12But for me, it's all about around food, great people, and you got to have, I think, you got
18:20to have enough humility on this side to do the work and enough, really, originality
18:28on this side and don't apologize for your originality and really go for it, right?
18:32Because if you're not original and if you don't have enough humility to do the work or workers
18:38do the work, it's not going to work out.
18:40You can have a moment, but in a long time, it's not going to work out.
18:44Yeah.
18:45You got to really love it and know this.
18:47Yes.
18:48Especially in the kitchens.
18:49Like, I mean, this is a tough job.
18:51And it's not always, and I think a lot of people right now, we see things on TV.
18:55We see celebrity chefs.
18:56I have to interrupt you there.
18:57Yeah.
18:57My grandmother was a live-in maid.
19:00Wow.
19:00That was a tough job.
19:01Mm, that's true.
19:03My sisters in Ethiopia, they walk for getting water at the age of five.
19:07You know this.
19:08Yes.
19:08That's a tough job.
19:09That is a tough job.
19:10Yeah, you're right.
19:11Cooking for some fabulous, amazing people is not tough compared to that.
19:15And that's where I come from.
19:17I come from a very humble beginning.
19:20Mm.
19:21Man, that was deep.
19:22No, but it's really, I mean.
19:23You're right, you're right.
19:24I know.
19:24I had a conversation with my grandmother when I was just starting, and she was like loving
19:29the fact that I was working in food, but she asked me always, Marcus, why do you have
19:33to love your job?
19:35Why is that important?
19:36No one ever asked me, out of the 60 years that she was working, one day, if she liked
19:41her job.
19:42It was just something she did.
19:43And as much as she loved me and I loved her, this was the one thing we never agreed on.
19:48I said, it's important to love my job, and she said, it's important that you have a
19:52job.
19:52Mm.
19:53Right?
19:53And it's just generational.
19:55Differences right there.
19:56Yeah.
19:56So.
19:57I mean, and I think, well, your success is part of that.
20:00Like, you know what I mean?
20:01Yeah.
20:01Like, when you love it, that shows in every single thing you do, in every dish, in every
20:04book, in every show.
20:06But what I meant to say is, like, what I think a lot of people see is, like, they see the
20:11TV chef.
20:12They see maybe the influencer.
20:13And they think, I want to do that.
20:16But there's a lot of things that happened before that, you know, role.
20:20Yeah.
20:20Can you, I would love for you to take us into one of your toughest moments in the kitchen.
20:25Like, what did that feel like?
20:26And how did you get up from there?
20:28You know, I've had so many moments of joy.
20:31So I think about that.
20:33And I have so many great, sort of, game-changing moments.
20:37But I do remember being a young cook and achieving, like, coming to three-star Michelin restaurants.
20:42And I never saw people of color.
20:44And I never saw women.
20:46And in my head, I was, like, noted.
20:49So when I get an opportunity to leave the kitchen that one day, the first thing I'm going to
20:53hire is women and people of color.
20:56And I didn't see people of color on any side of the supply chain.
21:00Delivering the food, being in the dining room, guests, purveyors, nowhere.
21:07And we're in a much better time now where people, where we are, we can do things like
21:11this.
21:12But that was always something that was noted to me.
21:14It's like, why is it we have worked so long with food and done all the labor anonymously?
21:21What can I do one day to be changing that and be part of that?
21:25So when you look at S&C, right, you look at the opposite of that.
21:31You look at opportunities.
21:32You look at that black joy.
21:33You look at that black entrepreneurship.
21:35And I just think it's an amazing festival that we can celebrate each other.
21:39So when you go to these stands, whether you go to off-the-hook catering or nachos with
21:44a twist, whatever it is, take one extra second to talk to them.
21:48That person wants to hear from you.
21:49If they have a card or if there's any information you can pick up.
21:53And next time when you're going to have an event or a party, you know, really, if you
21:59can, support that black-owned business.
22:00Because it might be the difference between that business staying open or being closed.
22:06That's so true.
22:07That is, that's, that's beautiful.
22:09And they, they've got a lot of good stories.
22:11Oh, of course.
22:11Each one of them here is an amazing story.
22:13There are so many family-owned businesses.
22:15There's so many amazing women, like generations, mom, daughter, grandmom here in this Essence
22:21Festival.
22:21So definitely go out there and try some of the food.
22:24And, and now we know you've been creating opportunities.
22:27So I would love to know from you, you have the opportunity now to give some advice.
22:32Okay.
22:33Okay.
22:33So I know there's some young black chefs that are tuning in.
22:36There's some people who want to have a restaurant, a cookbook.
22:38They just want to be in this industry.
22:39What, what advice would you give to them?
22:41Well, first, as a young one coming up, try to do internship of several different experiences.
22:47Because you might not know where you're going to end up.
22:49But if you know the craft, you're always going to be able to have a job and you're always
22:54going to take, be able to take it to the next opportunities, you know, because it's
22:57not always going to be up, up, up.
22:59There's going to be a lot of moments where you're just hanging on or you're just learning,
23:02right?
23:02Yeah.
23:02So I would say that I would do about five different internships, whether that would
23:06be pastry and, and, and, and learn the craft, like from pastry to fish, to vegetables,
23:12to meat and butchering, all that stuff.
23:14And then allow yourself to work front of the house, right?
23:18Because when you run a business, it's two sides to it.
23:20You can't just be a chef looking down, you're meeting customers, right?
23:24And front of the house, like my friend Herb said, it's a theater, it's a stage.
23:28We all know when we come to a restaurant, we want to be greeted.
23:31When you come into Red Rooster, we, I always say, look up, don't look down.
23:35Acknowledge us, right?
23:37And so I think things like that.
23:40And even with Rooster, it was eight years between I moved to Harlem and planned the
23:45restaurant.
23:46Really?
23:46And I had to go to churches.
23:47I had to go to the parks.
23:49I had to talk to a lot of aunties about what type of restaurant would they like to see.
23:55So this was not about making a restaurant for, in any community where there's fancy things,
24:02but you don't really engage with it.
24:04I wanted that door to be open and also change the narrative.
24:08We've all done this as black people.
24:10You go to a restaurant and you say, oh, there's another black couple sitting over there.
24:14At Rooster, that's flipped.
24:16We are the majority, welcome into our house.
24:19And we, everyone is welcome, but blackness is the starting point and is, you have an
24:27opportunity to walk into a different dining room where the art is on the wall, where the
24:30music comes from a place, where the service comes from a place, and it's around our culture.
24:35And we do that in Miami, in Overtown, we do that in Bahamas, in Montreal, and in Harlem.
24:42Yes, that's beautiful.
24:43I mean, I think, I think when I went to your restaurant for the first time, that was the big
24:48thing I noticed.
24:49I remember I was sitting there and somebody went, are you Habishan?
24:51I'm like, yeah.
24:51Like, just having those conversations, getting to see people who look just like you and they
24:55greet you with so much warmth.
24:57I felt that last night, walking into the stadium, right?
25:00Oh, man.
25:01Whoa.
25:02You know, and it's a wonderful, for people who are not of black culture, also wonderful
25:07opportunity to engage and learn more of us, right?
25:10Be curious that we don't play one type of music, we play several, we don't eat one type of
25:15food.
25:15We, like, think about how much food we know as black people about Italy.
25:22How much do you think Italy knows about black culture?
25:26Exactly.
25:27So until you level up on that, you know what?
25:29I'm good.
25:30I love Italy, but I'm good on it until we equal that a little bit.
25:33Yes.
25:33Yes.
25:34Okay.
25:34On that note.
25:35Yes.
25:36What do you see happening in African food, in different black cultural foods right now
25:41that you're excited about?
25:42I'm excited about the platforms like Instagram and TikTok that allows us to share, right?
25:51Like, Chef Michael is in Legos doing his thing.
25:54I know everything that Michael is up to because he shares that.
25:57Then you can have a young catering company in Cape Town, can be connected to a company in
26:03Washington, D.C.
26:04We didn't have those tools to inspire us, right?
26:07Yes.
26:07So this, where food was, it was really held up by a lot of few gatekeepers to get out,
26:12right?
26:13You had to go through the local paper and then maybe through the state paper and then maybe
26:16through a local TV.
26:18Now, your phone is the gatekeeper.
26:22Yeah.
26:22And that allows us, as people of color, that has a harder time to get, we know this fact,
26:28right?
26:28Harder time to get bank loans and less access to capital in general, right?
26:32And less generational wealth.
26:34But yes, if we can tell our stories and share our stories, you can start a business with your
26:39phone.
26:40And that, for me, is exciting.
26:41And that ties, you know, whether you are a black chef in Bahia in Brazil or in the Bronx
26:47or in Cape Town, it ties us all together and we can share those stories.
26:50That is so true.
26:52I mean, the fact that you-
26:53By the way, you should follow me on Marcus Cooks.
26:56Yes.
26:57I love that.
26:59I mean, it's true.
26:59Entrepreneur.
27:00Yeah.
27:00Hustle.
27:01Hustle.
27:02Hustle.
27:02Hustle, exactly.
27:02And in the foodie, you already know.
27:04You know, like in Harlem, hustle is, it's a positive.
27:07If you don't hustle, if you don't hustle, you get no respect.
27:10Yeah.
27:10You don't eat.
27:12You know, so.
27:12Like literally walking up to your restaurant, there are people selling things on the street.
27:15Of course.
27:15You can get yourself some jewelry, some shave butter, everything.
27:18My office is across the street from the restaurant.
27:21Yeah.
27:21Those 300 yards between our office and the restaurant.
27:24Yeah.
27:24I get pitched every day by a young black entrepreneur telling me what I should do with
27:28them or it's literally Shark Tank, like even like these shoes, right?
27:33Okay.
27:33This young kid come up, I know your shoe size.
27:36I know you're going to the Met Gala.
27:37You're going to wear these shoes.
27:38I was like, what?
27:39I got some pair of Jordans.
27:40And you know, he was like, you're Ethiopian, Swedish, and these are the original color of
27:44the Apollo.
27:45I got these shoes for you.
27:46You have to wear them.
27:47Wow.
27:48That type of hustle.
27:49And when the next day he came in, I got the shoes.
27:51Yeah.
27:51Every day, young people come up and they, you know, we did a TV show out of it actually.
27:57Wow.
27:58The young entrepreneur, John Henry's, he's crushing it right now.
28:00He's like, he's got his own fun.
28:02That was the one?
28:02Oh my goodness.
28:03Wow.
28:04John Henry used to like walk me from my house.
28:07He knew exactly where I live.
28:09From my house to my office.
28:10Like, Marcus, you've got to invest in me.
28:11This is what you've got to do.
28:12Wow.
28:13He runs his own fun now, 27 years old.
28:16Yes.
28:17That's incredible.
28:18I didn't know that was what you were talking about.
28:20That is hustle.
28:21That is hustle.
28:22No, we did a TV show with it together with Alicia Keys.
28:25Amazing.
28:26It's also the only time where my nephew, after all the stuff that we've done, right, I never
28:30get proud from my nephew.
28:32So one day my nephew calls me.
28:33I said, Marcus, do you know Alicia Keys?
28:37I said, I do.
28:38Oh, that's so cool.
28:39I'm really proud of you.
28:41Click.
28:41I said, what?
28:43I cook at the White House.
28:44I do this.
28:45He's like, click.
28:47Alicia Keys is the one.
28:48Yeah, Keys, exactly.
28:50I love that.
28:51Okay, so you just shouted out some people.
28:52We're coming to a close, and I would love for you to shout out some more people you think
28:56are on the rise, some black chefs that should be on everybody's radar right now.
29:02Or entrepreneurs, too.
29:03Yeah, yeah, yeah.
29:04There's so many doing their thing.
29:06You know, I think that when I look at Ghetto Gastro, for example, that are here, they're doing
29:12something, they're flipping the table on us, and I think it's amazing, their energy, and
29:16how they're really, you know, always representing the Bronx, but like really how they, it's
29:21eventful, it's fun to be around them.
29:24You know, Chef JJ was here the other day as well.
29:28He's been doing it for a long time.
29:30You know, I have, with our new restaurant, Chef Rose that works with us.
29:34She's amazing.
29:35She's Haitian-American.
29:36She's incredible.
29:37She's about to blow up, for example.
29:39And I think, you know, the next, the future for me in food, I feel, I think it's black and it's female.
29:47Oh, amazing.
29:48It is.
29:49Amazing.
29:49You guys heard that here.
29:51The future of food is black and it's female.
29:53Female, yes.
29:53Yes.
29:54And we're going to see them at your restaurant, your new restaurant.
29:56Can you shout that one out again, too?
29:58Yeah, we're opening in Chelsea around September.
30:01We're really, really excited.
30:04All seafood, small plates, going to be also bringing new purveyors into it from black and
30:10BIPOC communities and wine lists and everything.
30:13And really thinking through 360, how we can open opportunities for black entrepreneurs
30:18in the food space.
30:20Amazing.
30:20Okay, so we can find you at that restaurant.
30:23Is there anywhere else that folks can find you?
30:25Right now here at the Estes Festival, I'm going to do my brunch over there with amazing
30:29Nina Compton.
30:30We're talking about a local hero, Chef Nina Compton.
30:33She's amazing.
30:33We're cooking today in about half an hour, actually, over at the Four Seasons.
30:37Oh, wow.
30:38Okay.
30:39Okay, so you guys, check out Marcus on Instagram as MarcusCooks.
30:42Yeah, can I just say thank you to everybody showing up and saving your money, coming here
30:48in hard times and celebrating each other.
30:50Thank you so much to Essence Eats.
30:53Thank you so much to all the people who made this possible from WW and Harlem Eats as well.
30:59Thank you so much.
31:00Thank you so much, Marcus.
31:01Thank you so much, Marcus.
31:01Thank you so much, Marcus.
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