ADDIS ABABA — World renowned Ethiopian-born chef Marcus Samuelsson has opened his first Africa-based restaurant in the capital Addis Ababa to showcase fusion cuisine inspired by his unique upbringing.
The location of the eatery, which opened last month, is emblematic of the heights reached by the chef since leaving Ethiopia as a child — it’s on the 47th floor of the nation’s tallest building, the headquarters of the Ethiopian Commercial Bank.
Samuelsson is now an internationally acclaimed chef, but his early years were shaped by unrest. His life as a toddler in Ethiopia was disrupted by the 1974 Ethiopian civil war that paved the way for the communist rule of Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam.
The chef, who turns 53 later this month, lost his mother during the conflict and was separated from the rest of his family to be adopted by a Swedish couple soon after and grew up in Gothenburg, Sweden. He moved to New York at 23 to work as a sous chef and swiftly worked his way up to become one of the youngest chefs to ever earn a coveted three-star review from the New York Times.
The new restaurant, named Marcus Addis, features delicacies from all over the world but its menu is designed to retain a traditional Ethiopia flavor that brings out Samuelsson’s global culinary experience.
“I am proud of my Ethiopian roots,” Samuelsson told Semafor Africa. “I want my new restaurant in Addis Ababa to be a vehicle for job creation, capacity building, a training hub that works for — not against — traditional local Ethiopian restaurants.”
The celebrity chef has a growing list of fine-dining restaurants in Montreal, London, New York and his signature eatery – Red Rooster – in Harlem. As for now, Samuelsson is determined to make his restaurant in Ethiopia the signature act of his homecoming.
The dishes are all influenced by his Ethiopian and Swedish background, combined with his adult life in New York. They include his favorite local dish Kitfo — a minced meat full of spices complemented by Ethiopian herb butter which he calls “the ultimate celebration dish of Ethiopia — and fried chicken with a side of Doro Wot, Ethiopian traditional chicken stew and the cuisine of Sweden.
To Samuelsson, the opening of a modern restaurant in Addis Ababa has been in the making for almost a decade, anchored by his dream of a memorable homecoming. To pay homage to Ethiopian culture, the restaurant has teamed up with a number of Ethiopian designers, including Anna Getaneh, a former international model.
“I want my cuisine to be delicious and to be rooted in modern-day Ethiopia,” said Samuelsson.
read more: https://www.semafor.com/article/01/07/2024/ethiopia-marcus-samuelsson-opens-addis-restaurant