Taste of Ebony Preview
Chef Marcus Samuelsson
2007-10-09

With his popular book, The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa, chef Marcus Samuelsson took a major step in the growing effort to place multi-dimensional African cooking alongside other international cuisines on the American table.

Last month he upped the ante in a deal with Starbucks that had him pair signature desserts with new coffee offerings, and opened the door for his book to be the first cookbook ever sold in the chain.

In the coming months, the James Beard Award winning chef will continue that effort with the opening of Merkato 55, an African –inspired restaurant in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District.

In a recent interview, we talked with Samuelsson about the possibilities and hurdles involved in marketing African cuisine outside of the continent.

America is a nation of immigrants, many with great food. Why has Italian become the default cuisine that nearly every American family seems to have adapted into its home cooking?

MS: Food travels several ways. It’s influenced by how we travel and what we bring back. Italy has always been a popular destination. Also Italian Americans have made it easy to buy their dishes and ingredients. We can walk down the street and find it.

At the international food fairs, Italy has its own floor. France has its own floor. Spain and Greece have about a quarter of that. And then the rest of the world has about a quarter of that. So part of it is accessibility as well as marketing.

It’s also driven by major media. The meals that you see in photographs and recipes in major food magazines are mostly European driven. Part of it is a matter of tolerance, or what people think will sell. African words have not been as marketable or acceptable as other words so as a result we get “Belgian” chocolate and “French roast coffee,” even though the ingredients are African.

But the point I try to make in my book is that African food is American food -- and it’s been very difficult for consumers to understand that. Rice has Senegalese roots. The food of New Orleans has many African roots. Coffee is African. Grits…  we just don’t always identify them that way.

Italy has also has made food export an aggressive part of their trade strategies. Do you see focused efforts to begin pushing specific African food products as a driver of economic growth?

MS: With the wave of immigrants recently we’ve seen a lot of changes in what’s available. There was also big growth in Spanish food becoming available that really started in the 90s – olive oils, wines cheeses, and now you see them readily available in the markets. But that’s a concerted effort, nation to nation. 

Africa is a whole continent so it’s much more complex. I don’t know that there’s an arm of the African Union focused on that. But as the U.S. does more business with Africa and people start to travel to Africa more for tourism, we will naturally start to see more consumer demand.

So do you see your recent deal with Starbucks as part of the effort to elevate African food to world class cuisine in western minds?

MS: My Starbucks deal is just an example. People look to America for many things. Part of the reason for my book is trying to make direct connections between African foods and American culture.  The coffees [at Starbucks] are named after where they are from, which are in Africa, not just how they’re brewed.

There are already a number of great African foods being exported – cocoa beans, vanilla beans, cinnamon, some of the brown sugars, for example.

We can’t just see Africa in the context of aids, war and famine. Africans don’t talk about wanting aid. We have pride in our culture and in our foods and other products.

Food is a way of making a connection to Africa that’s fun. Instead of talking about Africa in a heavy way, we can say “let’s do an African meal today” and really make a great connection.

If you had to pick one African food product or dish that was poised to be the breakout product that opens the door to greater awareness of African food, what would it be?

MS: I think the Moroccans have started it with couscous. Of course couscous is not just Moroccan, you see it throughout North Africa. But it’s identified with Morocco. It’s also accessible, inexpensive and mostly it’s easy to cook, which is very important with our busy lives in this country.

Wine from South Africa has also gained in popularity over the last 15 years. We’ve enjoyed it and now you see it much more because of demand.

We have more diverse consumers now, and I think African Americans in particular have embraced things like South African wine and want to see more. They have pride in where things came from, and are starting to ask for more of those products.

Also as consumers develop a greater demand for organic and free trade products, Africa will naturally benefit.

Samuelsson, along with celebrity chefs G. Garvin and Jeff “Chef Jeff” Henderson will serve as a co-chair of the 2nd Annual Taste of Ebony, to be held in Chicago on October 16, 2007. The event, celebrating culinary excellence, features top Black chefs from around the nation.

Check out our gallery from the event 

Photo: B. Raglin/Wireimage