“People come up to me all the time and ask how I stay the way I am, and it's no secret. The first lesson a chef needs to learn is how to handle a knife; the second is how to be around all that food.”

Swedish-American chef and restaurateur, born in Ethiopia. Samuelsson rose to prominence as the first African chef to earn a Michelin star, leading his New York restaurant, Red Rooster, to critical acclaim. His work spans fine dining, food writing, and advocacy for culinary diversity, blending global flavors with accessible, innovative techniques.