Quotes from Marcus Samuelsson

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.

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday - it's a day that's American to the core and it's a day that's all about what and how we eat.

The holidays are my favorite time of year! Christmas was always one of the biggest celebrations in Sweden, and I look forward to the festivities each year.

Weekends are sacred for me. They're the perfect time to relax and spend time with family and friends.

Every time you use the word 'healthy, ' you lose. The key is to make yummy, delicious food that happens to be healthy.

Pot lucks are fun, especially when you encourage your guests to bring dishes that represent their families or cultures.

The same ten dollars you spend on lunch is all it costs for City Harvest to feed 37 kids who are hungry. That's pretty astounding.

While I hold my own political views, it's important not to get too wrapped up in individual candidates and personalities, but instead to focus on the real issues.

Salad can get a bad rap. People think of bland and watery iceberg lettuce, but in fact, salads are an art form, from the simplest rendition to a colorful kitchen-sink approach.

Coconut is one of those love-hate ingredients.

Simple ingredients can be used to make elegant dishes with just a little extra attention to detail.

While you can find zucchini in markets in most places year-round, allowing you to make everything from breakfast dishes like zucchini and onion frittatas to snacks like zucchini-stuffed crab cakes, the onset of fall marks the beginning of hard squash season.

I learned from my grandmother, who grew up in devastating war times, how important it is to keep with tradition and celebrate the holidays during tough times.

Being an Ethiopian-born, Swedish-raised chef, there's nothing traditional about my Thanksgiving spread.

Most cultures traditionally link food and spirituality directly with periodic restrictions and celebrations punctuating the year. Abstinence from particular foods or full-on fasting is part of many religious traditions and holidays.

What makes Harlem special is that at any given time, food seekers can not only find food deeply rooted in Southern, Latin and African traditions, but also can taste the newer Senegalese, Chinese, and Italian influences as well.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite American traditions. I quickly picked it up when I moved to the U.S. from Sweden.

Finding creative and effective ways to simultaneously give back and economically empower people is something that is increasingly important. Not everyone can open a business and directly create jobs in the way that we have at Red Rooster Harlem.

It wasn't until I came to New York and started to see the African American community, but also the Ethiopian community here, and started to eat the food, started to understand the music. I said, you know, I got to go and understand the culture. So me and my sister went.

Not only does the summer bring warm weather and tons of summer activities, but it also yields a fresh crop of increasingly useful avocados!

Cooking is in an honest profession where you cannot hide and let others do the work for you. You have to show up, work hard and prove you can do it faster and better. And find a mentor who will recognize your talent and push you in the right direction.

I learned at a young age what chasing flavors meant, and I've been doing that my whole life.

Chocolate is one of the world's most beloved discoveries, and when we need a quick boost of energy and endorphins, chocolate is the go-to treat.

Criticism is part of the creative man's journey, and I appreciate it.