The Breakfast Club - Marcus Samuelsson Interview

Episode Date: May 14, 2015

Marcus Samuelsson stops through to chat with the Breakfast Club about The Harlem EatUp! Festival. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Had enough of this country? Ever dreamt about starting your own? I planted the flag. This is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy. 55 gallons of water, 500 pounds of concrete. Or maybe not. No country willingly gives up their territory. Oh my God.

What is that? Bullets. Listen to Escape from Zakistan. We need help! That's Escape from Z-A-Q-istan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast

Post Run High is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. As a kid, I really do remember having these dreams and visions, but you just don't know what is going to come for you. Alicia shares her wisdom on growth, gratitude, and the power of love. I forgive myself. It's okay.

Have grace with yourself. You're trying your best. And you're going to figure out the rhythm of this thing. Alicia Keys, like you've never heard her before. Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's Teresa, your resident ghost host. And do I have a treat for you. Haunting is crawling out from the shadows, and it's going to be devilishly good. We've got chills, thrills, and stories that'll make you wish the lights stayed on. So join me, won't you?

Let's dive into the eerie unknown together. Sleep tight, if you can. Listen to Haunting on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's up? This is Ramses Jha. And I go by the name Q Ward. And we'd like you to join us each week for our show Civic Cipher. That's right. We discuss social issues, especially those that affect black and brown people, but in a way that informs and empowers all people. We discuss everything from prejudice to politics to police violence, and we try to give you the tools to create positive change in your home, workplace, and social circle. We're going to learn how to become better allies to each other.

So join us each Saturday for Civic Cipher on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Real people, real celebrities, real talk. Join the Breakfast Club. Weekday mornings, 6 to 10. Come on. Real people. Real celebrities. Real talk. Join the Breakfast Club. Blast off in your head. Weekday mornings, 6 to 10. Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy, Angela Yee, Charlamagne Tha God. We are the Breakfast Club.

Now, Angela Yee, Charlamagne, I make a world-class, renowned omelet, ham and cheese style. Ham and cheese, that's a style? This guy that orders now is kind of close to my omelet. His cooking style and cooking ways. All right, Envy, just shut it up. We got Marcus Samuelson here. How are you? Thank you for having me.

Thank you so much for coming. Marcus, let me tell you something, sir. The name of the show is The Breakfast Club. Yep, yep, yep. I appreciate the food you sent, but that's lunch dinner. Okay? Yeah, but you know.

You sent baked chicken, vegetables, brown rice. Yeah, it was delicious. This is The Breakfast Club. I thought there was going to be some scrambled eggs. I got to come back with some chicken and waffle for you, okay? There you go.

Okay, I'll do that. French toast. French toast. I got you. I got you. Don't assume we like chicken just because we're black. But you do like chicken. But we do like chicken because it's good.

Wow, wow, wow. Great piece of bird. I heard we have a culinary graduate here. No, no, no. Fake chef. No, no, no. He claims to be a chef. We've been doing this show almost five years.

He's never bought a dish in. Does he bring breakfast? No, we've never had anything. He lies about having all these chef coats and all that. Oh, he's bad. Now, Marcus, I tell you, he likes you. He can't stand Chef Roble, though. Oh, wow.

Roble's good. Roble's a nice guy. He knows a bunch of fun facts about you and talks about you. I know Marcus. Marcus cooked a steak for President Obama. Listen, listen. I'm ready. I'm ready.

I'm ready. I'm up. I'm up. So I brought the wrong meal. Our club was rude to the producer. Wow. This is a tough morning over here. Talk about the meat you gave President Obama.

Whoa. It was a good meal. It's about steak meat, not meat meat. Yeah, it was a good meal. We're growing here. It about the meat you gave President Obama. Steak meat, not meat meat. Yeah, it was a good meal. We're growing here. It was a good meal. But you know, just my luck. I cooked the meal where there was all the controversies like, you know, when the lady crashed the party. That was my

meal. That's perfect. That's my luck. I get the chance to do it and I have to do it that time. So nobody wanted to eat? No, it was good. Dinner was good. I cooked a good Indian meal. A lot of vegetables. And we used Mrs. Obama's vegetable garden. It was good.

It was a good meal. I thought it was steak, though. State dinner. State? State dinner. I'm an idiot. State dinner. He's such an idiot.

I thought you were talking about prime ribeye, filet mignon, T-bone. It's because he pronounces things wrong. I'm like, when did steak become an Indian meal? I thought it was scrimp. Steak. Steak. Steak. Passing United State.

Got you. I make Charlamagne and Envy eat Indian food all the time, right? I did. You know what? You're not wrong, though, because when the president came to Red Rooster, I did cook him steak. Got you. So maybe you were there.

Yeah, maybe. You were one of the Secret Service men. No, I just actually thought he said steak dinner. No, I cooked for him a bunch of times. And when he came up to the restaurant, I did cook him steak. Does he stay behind you when you cook those Secret Service watch over you, make sure you don't put nothing on the president's stuff? They wouldn't be there right now, actually.

They're right here in the studio. No, but it's a lot of things that you've got to go through. And, you know, of course, you're cooking for the man. It's a big deal. I was nervous. I tell you, I was more nervous when he to go through. And, you know, of course, you're cooking for the man. It's a big deal. I was nervous. I tell you, I was more nervous when he came to the restaurant because, you know, you just don't want anything to go wrong. At all. Did he make you try it first to make sure it's not poison?

Yeah. Really? A lot of tasters. That should be a good job for you to be like a professional taster. You're a chef and everything. He's not a real chef. No, but he went through it. He just called you fat.

First you were a she-chef. Sue-chef. Oh, my God. You were a sue-chef. Now you're just a taster. Why do you call it a she-chef? That's horrible. I'd be hearing things that just mess them up.

As you can see. I clearly can't hear too well. Are you guys coming to Harlem Eat Up in Harlem this weekend or what? Now, I will come... You're going to have a festival in Harlem. I will come to that. Yeah, come through. I don't know about these guys.

President Clinton is coming. Okay. All of Harlem is coming out. Cooking classes for free. Is Dipset coming? Pardon me? Dipset. No, no, no.

But all of my chef friends are coming. Aaron Sanchez is going to give a cooking class for free. Bobby Flay is going to be. I know Bobby Flay. He's coming. How do we get in these cooking classes, though, if we want to? You go to Morningside Park from noon to 8 o'clock. There's going to be cooking classes.

There's going to be seminars. We're bringing thousands and thousands of people uptown to celebrate Harlem Eat Up. Every restaurant in Harlem is participating. Just showing that we can do it, too. I love Harlem restaurants, man. I love Sylvia's. I love Amy Roos. Red Rooster.

Red Rooster. I don't really like Red Rooster, to be honest with you. But it's... You don't like Red Rooster. Really? Oh, my fault. I didn't know that. But I like...

It's this seafood restaurant called The Taste of Seafood. That's a good restaurant. That spot is banging with the seafood. That's the banging spot, though, boy. That's how to get you fat,

though. Them scrimps and the... You have to come up to a new one, Street Bird. That restaurant's all based on hip-hop and graffiti. It's like a rotisserie chicken place. We just opened it.

You know, easy takeout. And, you know, it's like really cool. Can you sit down and have drinks there? Yeah, no, it's both. Okay. Both. You can have 50 seats, and then you can go, you know, deliver to you. Red Rooster's fun.

They do comedy there, too. Yeah. I come to the comedy shows there. All kinds of music, all kinds of stuff. Always have good DJs. I think you guys would like, if you don't like Rooster, I think you like Street Bird. Street Bird's not like y'all and they're cooking pigeons. No. It's rotisserie chicken. We just had some. That's what you're eating right there. Street Bird is just like good roasted chicken. That chicken is actually amazing and the sauce, the teriyaki sauce

is dope. Street Bird. Yeah, not pigeons. Why'd you come up with that name though? Why Street Bird? Street is, you know, the whole thing is inspired really by old school graffiti and hip hop culture, so it's a little bit street and then bird, you know, I love bird. So we are like, you know, from Run DMC to Nas, I just picked that era between sort of like early 80s to early 90s of hip hop. That's the era that I loved about hip hop music and then graffiti the same way. Do you feel like people's eating habits are changing a lot? Yeah, definitely, definitely.

And more people want to eat delicious and yummy, of course, but they also want to eat healthier, you know? Do you hire only family members? Because you have 18 brothers and sisters, so you could just hire family members all day long. I do hire locally, though. I do, absolutely. You know, about

80% of my staff comes from Harlem. And that's the good thing, really, with things like Rooster and Sylvia. The restaurants are in the community and create jobs for us. You can't really outsource a restaurant job, you know? So with all the restaurants coming up and opening in Harlem, that means it's more jobs created.

It's really hard to keep a restaurant in business though. What was the statistics of restaurants that open and the percentage of them that close? Yeah, I mean, I don't know any business in America that is easy. A restaurant business, yeah, it's hard, but I've been very fortunate to have had my place for many, many years. Unless this guy starts

talking bad about it. No, I can't. I for many, many years. And unless this guy starts talking bad about it, I can't. I want to stay in business. I just want to shut a brother down. I didn't know. Obama likes Red Rooster. Exactly. Oh, you know I met you before?

Yeah. I seen you somewhere. Maybe on TV. You got a real tall wife, right? Yeah. She's way taller than you. Yeah, she is. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

That's how you know the name by his wife's name? No, you know why? Not that he's a famous chef. No, because I was with this chef Yeah. Yeah Not that he's a famous chef The fact that he's a baby I was with this chick who was taller than me. Was it your wife? Oh, no, it wasn't actually this was years ago And she thought that we was gonna have a future together No, she was giving them as an example of us being together cuz he's short and she's mad tall and you're sure What just happened?

Bring back chef in the corner come up And you're short. What just happened? I'm dead ass. This is crazy. I just thought about it. I'm like, okay, I know who he is. Bring back Chef in the Corner. Come up. What is this? It has nothing to do with the Harlem Eat Up Festival. What? Eat up.

Now, you grew up in Ethiopia. I was born in Ethiopia. I grew up in Sweden. I mean, it's the irony because, you know, the stereotype of Ethiopia is that the kids over there are starving. I mean, of course, some of them are. A lot of them are. Well, I would say, you know, the stereotype of Ethiopia is that the kids over there are starving. I mean, of course, some of them are. A lot of them are. Well, I would say, you know, honestly. What else do they show us here in America?

It is. Right, right. But, you know, Ethiopia is completely different. Just like in America, we have a lot of, well, about 10 million kids every day in America go to bed hungry. So, you know, yes, it was really bad in Ethiopia, but, you know, it's tough here, too. Is that one of the reasons you wanted to get into, like, cooking, cooking, food? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, to make a difference, you know, yes, it was really bad in Ethiopia, but it's, you know, it's tough here too. Is that one of the reasons you wanted to get into, like, cooking, business, and food? Yeah, absolutely.

I mean, to make a difference, you know? I really... I love that answer, and he just laughs in the middle of the sentence. Where are you? Chef in the corner, can you come up and support me? No, don't stay over there. Come through. You and I went to cooking school.

You're supposed to back me up. Our producer said he never gets pictures. He said, can you try to slide in a picture with me and Marcus at some point? Have you ever cooked with somebody who didn't like your food? Yeah. It happens all the time. All the time? No, but people's taste is very different.

You know, and people, especially in New York and Harlem, people are very upfront. Hey, I didn't like this, so you just got to take it. It's a humble beginning in a humble journey you gotta watch that though though. Exactly. A lot of people do that just to get a free meal. I'm not gonna start a rumor here because people are gonna say you said it on the radio I didn't write you. No. You guys really want to shut me down. No, no, no. Port Red Rooster. It's a black owned business owned by Ethiopian. Let's go. Let's go.

Okay. Now on a serious note, it says that your mom walked 75 miles to a hospital? Yeah, yeah. She did walk from the village to the hospital. Me and my mom and my sister had tuberculosis. We survived and then we got adopted to Sweden. It was really in Sweden that I started cooking. So you walked as a family there? Yeah, I was a kid. She carried me.

I didn't do much. So she died on the way? Yes, she did actually die in the hospital. So TB was a big tuberculosis thing back then. Still is actually in Ethiopia. You need to write a book, sir. Yes, yes, yes, I did. Number one bestseller.

Number one bestseller. I can't, Charlamagne. Number one. Yes, chef. The book is called Yes, Chef. I'm going to send it to that girl and try to explain for you. I don't know if you know. Charlamagne, Marcus Samuelsson is a pretty, Chef. I'm going to send it to that girl and try to explain for you. I don't know if you know. Charlamagne, Marcus Samuelsson is a pretty big deal.

I know he's not. This guy's a pretty big deal. I don't know if you're aware. I actually came to. I come back. He's a good boy. He's a good boy. I came to Red Rooster when he first opened.

First of all, I didn't know you was coming today. I'm happy to see you, man. Come on. I like your kids. I didn't know. You don't read your emails? Nice. Thank you, sir.

Nice, man. I'm going to read Marcus's book. I like to kicks. I didn't know. You don't read your emails? Nice. Thank you, sir. Nice, man. I'm going to read Marcus's book. I like to read. You like to read. Good. It's a short book. You're quick. You'll be good.

I'm a foreigner. I made it very easy for us to read. Oh, gotcha. Yeah. Real light. But I did show up to Red Rooster when you first opened. Yeah. Yeah, I went like the first week that it opened.

A whole bunch of us came because we were excited. We were like, oh, Marcus Samuels is opening a restaurant. And you were there. Yeah. And you were coming to every table saying, do you like it? Do you like it? And I feel like the menu's changed a lot. Yeah, we've got to evolve, you know. And Harlem has changed too. But we're still doing our supper club at Jenny's. We always have music down there. And, you know,

that was the whole idea with Harlem Eat Up, to do something that celebrates just food, art culture, and music and art. So tell us what Harlem Eat Up is, because I know a lot of people want to go. I already tweeted about it. Thank you. And a lot of people are asking,

okay, so what is the whole festival? Because I know you announced it. A lot of lesbians got it confused, exactly what it is. A lot of lesbians in Harlem, they don't... Well, they should come uptown, because we'll make them not that confused. They should go downtown. It's going to be...

You guys are crazy this morning. It's really a celebration. It's going to be a lot of fun. Whether they go uptown or downtown, they're going to have a lot of fun. That's right. It's going to be a lot of fun Whether they go uptown or downtown They're going to have a lot of fun That's right It's going to be an eat-up regardless It's going to be an eat-up

I'm telling you Yes sir Yes sis And no it's just a food festival Celebrating all the restaurants in Harlem And you know like I said Thousands of people coming up Bill Clinton is really the one

That helped us put the festival together And he's coming through on Saturday And we're just really excited about having 30 top restaurants in Harlem with the 30 top chefs in the country coming together, working together. It's happening in our community, and it's affordable, which is a big key for us. A lot of these festivals are always expensive. We wanted to make sure it was affordable. So some things cost $10, $15.

Some things are for free. Does Bill require special dishes? Now he's more on the vegan. Now he's eating healthy. Yeah, definitely he eats more fish and a little bit more vegetarian. But before, like 10 years ago, he ate more like a southern guy. Got you. Now who in your family influenced you to cook?

My grandmother. My grandmother was really the one to help me. She believed in me, supported me. My sisters always tried, like, I'm the youngest one, so they were always on me. And my grandmother, when we sort of cooked together, it was always me and my grandmother against my two sisters. And my grandmother always made sure that I

won. Your Swedish grandmother? 18 years old. Your Swedish grandmother? Swedish grandmother, yeah. It's a big family. They're fun. You know how to make Swedish meatballs? I do. I do. You like them? Do you smoke Swisher Sweets? What, what, what, what?

I smoke Swisher Sweets? Don't worry about it. What, what? This guy's embarrassing, man. No, he's good, I like his kick stuff. I like the kick. You win, baby. Nice.

Gucci print. Wow. I think they got the print, I don't know. Marcus has two different socks on. I do. Marcus got money. He got money. That was just like this morning, I don't know. Marcus has two different socks on. I do. Marcus got money. He got money. That was just like this morning.

I'm like, just put them on. My gosh. Well, tell them again about what restaurant you own, how they can get in touch with you, how they can come check out your restaurant. Yeah. And congratulations on the new restaurant. Thank you very much. Come to Street Bird Rotisserie on 116 and 8th Avenue.

Come up to town this weekend to Harlem Eat Up. It's going to happen all weekend from Friday to Sunday. Come through. It's going to be a fun festival. And of course Red Rooster. And Red Rooster and Ginny's Supper Club. And we're going to have a good time. What's it called? Ginna? Ginny's Supper Club. Why you name that after a bird? It was actually just Ginny

is an old lady that we knew and we just want to honor her and have a place of sort of jazz and music. Okay. And you can go to harlemEatUp.com to get more information. And just so you know, the proceeds from the ticket sales will be donated to Harlem Park to Park and City Meals on Wheels. Yes. Thank you for having me. Come up, all right?

Next time, chicken and waffles, baby. I got you. Some of that street burn and waffles. My goodness. This is The Breakfast Club. Marcus Samuelson. Had enough of this country? Ever dreamt about starting your own?

I planted the flag. This is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy. 55 gallons of water, 500 pounds of concrete. Or maybe not. No country willingly gives up their territory. Oh my God.

What is that? Bullets. Listen to Escape from Zakistan. That's Escape from Z-A-Q-A-Stan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series,

The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast Post Run High is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. As a kid, I really do remember having these dreams

and visions, but you just don't know what is going to come for you. Alicia shares her wisdom on growth, gratitude, and the power of love. I forgive myself. It's okay. Have grace with yourself. You're trying your best. And you're going to figure out the rhythm of this thing. Alicia Keys, like you've never heard her before. Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hello, my undeadly darlings. It's Teresa, your resident ghost host. And do I have a treat for you. Haunting is crawling out from the shadows and it's going to be devilishly good. We've got chills, thrills, and stories that'll make you wish the lights stayed on. So join me, won't you? Let's dive into the eerie unknown together. Sleep tight, if you can. Listen to Haunting on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Daphne Caruana Galizia was a Maltese investigative journalist who on October 16th, 2017, was assassinated.

Crooks everywhere unearthed the plot to murder a one-woman Wikileaks. She exposed the culture of crime and corruption that were turning her beloved country into a mafia state. Listen to Crooks Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts

or wherever you get your podcasts.