Marcus Samuelsson Food Quotations

It's often hard for us to imagine going without some of our luxuries like travel, dining out, or Internet, much less our basic necessities like food and water. But try for a minute to imagine how life would be with such deprivations.

Here's a thought: what if we ban the word 'healthy food' from our culinary vocabulary? I'm not talking about banning foods that are considered healthy. I'm talking about changing the way we think about food overall.

We know so much about the European food story, and we're getting to know about the American food story; but we know so little about the African food story.

Like all food, whether you're talking about Persian food, or Chinese food, or Swedish food, it's always a reflection of wars, trading, a bunch of good and a bunch of bad. But what's left is always the food story.

Without food, we cannot survive, and that is why issues that affect the food industry are so important.

While some people may think being a chef only entails making enticing dishes and pushing the culinary boundaries, being a part of the food industry involves much more.

The reasons for food insecurity are many and varied. But part of the problem is the global farming systems.

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.

You have to balance, but you can be aggressive as a chef. It benefits the food. You have to be passionate. You can't be angry cooking.

I had a long-lasting love affair with the flavors from Japan and the hustling New York street vendors. And, of course, a life-changing return to Ethiopia has made huge impacts on my life in food.

Taking dishes straight off the restaurant's menu and putting them into a cookbook doesn't work, because as a chef you have your own vision of what your food is, but you can't always explain it. Or you can't pick recipes that best illustrate who and where you are and what you're doing. And if the recipes don't work, you don't have a book.

Children want to mimic adults. They notice when you choose to prepare fresh vegetables over calling in another pizza pie for dinner. They will see that food made with love and care outweighs going through the drive-through window.

I don't distinguish the music I listen to from great music - it's just music. There shouldn't be an announcement that divides our food between what tastes good and what is good for us.

I always suggest something fast and simple so you have more time to share with friends; and when we think of the ultimate food to serve for a football game, only one thing comes to mind - wings!

Although I may not know a lot about football, I do know a lot about food! As a result, not many people ask me to join their fantasy leagues, but they will come to me for suggestions on what to serve for guests for a weekly Sunday get-together.

I'm engaged in food on so many levels, and I love that. So my work, my craft, is around food, and writing is one aspect of it; communicating a narrative, cooking online is one aspect of it; solving the food chasm that we have in Harlem and finding a farmers market is another one, and all of them are equally exciting for me.

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.

I credit my grandmother for teaching me to love and respect food. She taught me how to waste nothing, to make sure I used every bit of the chicken and boil the bones till no flavor could be extracted from them.

The dialogue and conversation about food is everywhere - television, chat rooms, social media outlets and among everyday conversations.

Certain foods are good for preparing your body for an intense workout and giving you the energy you need to endure it. Others are great for after exercising to help you maintain calorie burning, build muscle, and prevent cramping.

As a chef, I always have in mind how to properly feed the public, but at times it's easy to forget that some people have trouble even getting any food, much less adequate nutrition.

Most of my education has been around food.

Pasta isn't just for Italian food anymore. Now there are tasty pasta recipes found in Asian cuisine, and it's emerging as a newfound love for vegans.

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

It's key to know which essential foods will keep you going and help your body recover after hard work.

In America, we are engaged in constant battle with food.

In Ethiopia, where I was born, all the cooks are women. When I grew up in Sweden, my mom and my grandmother did predominantly all the cooking. Then I changed to restaurant kitchens, where all of a sudden there were just more men than women, and I always thought that was weird.

In Africa, you have no clean water, but you have good food options. In Harlem, everyone can shower and get fresh water, but you often have bad food options.

The food business is very tough, but there's also a lot of love and very giving.

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.

The opportunity here in the U.S. is so unique because we are so diverse, with so many different cultures living together. Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists, all with their own connections to the spiritual aspects of food and with lessons that we can learn from each other.

I'm lucky to live in New York, a city that offers so many options for lunch. I can pick up dumplings from a Midtown food truck, grab empanadas by the dozen in Spanish Harlem or get a fantastic bowl of ramen in the East Village.

There shouldn't be an announcement that divides our food between what tastes good and what is good for us.

I am a chef through and through. Everything I do - whether it is cooking for kids in Harlem or cooking in a fine dining establishment - all my days are consumed by food.

Food has always been in my life. Being born in Ethiopia, where there was a lack of food, and then really cooking with my grandmother Helga in Sweden. And my grandmother Helga was a cook's cook.