Marcus Samuelsson on Top Chef Success, Bouncing Back From Failure, and Showing Up!! (Part 2 of 2)

Adrienne Cheatham (0:15)

Welcome back to The Chef's Cut. Today, we are back for part two of our conversation with celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson. If you haven't yet heard part one, go ahead and check out our last episode for the full story.

So, how does it feel watching your chefs go do like Top Chef and like those things? Like Tristan won last season, you had Anthony on this year, you had me on before. Like, what does it feel like when these people that you've mentored and helped shape, you kind of send them out into the world and hope that they make it. But what is that feeling like?

Marcus Samuelsson (0:57)

Well, I think it's hard for them because I don't send them out until they're ready. And I would say like, listen, it's not about winning or, but I'm like, I did well, Adrian did well, T did well. So if you're gonna represent, you don't have to win, but you have to represent us well, right? Because winning is kind of like, it's really out of your, like so many things kind of happen, but you can be sixth or seventh and have a huge impact.

Like someone like Nina or someone like Naysha, right? Like they are amazing. They don't have to win, but it's like they had impact larger than themself or Kamari or whatever it is, like amazing people. So it's like make sure and if you're not ready, like I'm not calling Top, not because you're not good enough cook, but maybe there's other things going on in your life and you're just not ready. Because you're going to get on when you're at that level, like I knew Anthony would get on.

It was just about when, right? I knew Sherry would get on. It was just about it matter when.

Adrienne Cheatham (1:56)

Yeah, Sherry had this year.

Marcus Samuelsson (1:58)

Yeah. But for me, it's not about winning because that's so esoteric. There's so many things can happen.

Adrienne Cheatham (2:03)

But yeah, winning doesn't matter.

Marcus Samuelsson (2:08)

You guys can say that back and forth.

Adrienne Cheatham (2:09)

Says the person who won Top Chef Masters and the person who won Top Chef.

Marcus Samuelsson (2:15)

But it's really mentally, you got to be ready. Yeah.

Joe Flamm (2:19)

Yeah. It's such a mental thing. And I think it brings up such a great point where you said you wanted to do this and you've done this. I mean, the chefs you've mentored, you brought so many.

I think when we were talking to Tristan, maybe he was talking about it and he said, you'll call him up or you'll call Adrienne up and you'll be like, hey, who's the next person? You mean, who's the next person I need to talk to?

But when you sit down with these, how do you look at talent? When you're finding a chef for a new spot, and you have to sit down for a person, is it them cooking for you? Is it questions you ask? I'm just so curious about, because you've done it so well, how do you begin that process?

Marcus Samuelsson (2:56)

Well, some people can sneak up on you.

Tristan is a cooks, cooks, cooks. Camera, no camera. Tristan and I will always think about food, for good or bad. We're always in our head. If I text him right now, he's like, I was just thinking about this pork belly. I guarantee you, like that's Tristan. And I'm very similar in that way, like we're always, I know like Tristan is for me, like a cooks, cooks, cooks, always. Someone like Anthony that is a little more introverted, but skill-wise incredible. So with Anthony, you got to pull it out and kind of push him and say like, you can do this.

No, no, that's not good. That's incredible. Keep working on that idea. That idea is not great. When Anthony, he was more, he took time, it's years. Anthony and I, it's six years.

Now he's completely fluent and can do all the things. So it's really, everyone is unique in their own way. There's also a lot of cooks in my tree that are not famous, but are just hugely influential in our team. I would say someone like Kingsley, for example, everyone that ever worked with me knows Kingsley. Paul will say, who's your uncle? King is your uncle.

Adrienne Cheatham (4:14)

Yep.

Marcus Samuelsson (4:15)

Tristan, who's your uncle? King is your uncle.

Adrienne Cheatham (4:18)

Kingsley. I went to see him in his pop-up here. Yeah. Kingsley is the man.

Marcus Samuelsson (4:23)

There are a few guys that are part of my tribe that I couldn't like. Now, like Chef Ed and Greg, Chef Ed has this incredible hip-hop series where he links rappers to food.