1
00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,360
Speaker 1: All right, well, let's get into it. Today's guest is

2
00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:23,160
Speaker 1: Marcus Samuelson. Listen, before I bring him in and get started,

3
00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:25,200
Speaker 1: let me give you a little bit of background on

4
00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:28,560
Speaker 1: why he's someone you're going to want to tune in

5
00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:31,400
Speaker 1: and listen to if you don't already know who this

6
00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:31,960
Speaker 1: man is.

7
00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:33,280
Speaker 2: Marcus Emerson.

8
00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:37,680
Speaker 1: He is the renowned chef behind many many restaurants worldwide,

9
00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:43,199
Speaker 1: including Red Rooster, Harlem Street, Birder, Yankee Stadium, Marcus at

10
00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:44,280
Speaker 1: Bahama Fish.

11
00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:46,400
Speaker 2: I mean, that's why I spent New Year's Eve and

12
00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:47,639
Speaker 2: several of us.

13
00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:50,760
Speaker 1: He was the youngest person to receive a three star

14
00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:54,400
Speaker 1: review from the New York Times and the guest chef

15
00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:59,360
Speaker 1: for the Obama administration's first State Dinner. He's won eight

16
00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:03,400
Speaker 1: James Foundation Awards, starred in several hit shows including I'm

17
00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:05,280
Speaker 1: sure this is where many of you saw him, Top

18
00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:08,959
Speaker 1: Chef but Family Style, No Passport required, Iron Chef. I

19
00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:11,520
Speaker 1: think I saw him there too as well, and more

20
00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:14,840
Speaker 1: show than I even I've been on, probably, and also

21
00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:19,679
Speaker 1: hosts and produces This Seat at the Table and also

22
00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:24,640
Speaker 1: co hosts This Moment do his own philanthropic initiatives. He

23
00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:29,360
Speaker 1: served over one million meals to people in need since

24
00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:34,600
Speaker 1: the pandemic hit. Marcus also co produces the annual Harlem

25
00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:38,039
Speaker 1: Eat Up Festival and that's in New York and he

26
00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:41,840
Speaker 1: is a New York Times best selling author and I

27
00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:45,479
Speaker 1: am extremely excited to have him on the show today.

28
00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:46,400
Speaker 2: What's up, Marcus?

29
00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:49,800
Speaker 3: How you doing, brother DJ? I'm super appled to be here, deveryone.

30
00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:53,760
Speaker 3: Thank you for having me. And you know, like I said,

31
00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:56,800
Speaker 3: my son and I were just coming off reading your book.

32
00:01:56,960 --> 00:01:58,080
Speaker 4: Congratulation to that.

33
00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,960
Speaker 3: To share that experience, you just made it harder for

34
00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:03,040
Speaker 3: old parents right now.

35
00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:06,240
Speaker 4: Now we have an example like that. Do you want

36
00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:08,400
Speaker 4: to be the cool dad? That's what you gotta do.

37
00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:08,959
Speaker 3: Well?

38
00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:13,040
Speaker 1: It is great and thank you man, and it's a

39
00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:15,840
Speaker 1: very warming feeling to know you bring joys to families.

40
00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:18,200
Speaker 2: But you're no strange of that.

41
00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:21,600
Speaker 1: I mean, that's the whole concept of hospitality, right opening

42
00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:24,639
Speaker 1: up your home to others and making them feel good,

43
00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:29,560
Speaker 1: whether it's your bed, the ambiance, your food, your love.

44
00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:31,840
Speaker 1: And you know, I know you don't get tired of it.

45
00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:34,800
Speaker 1: You wouldn't be doing it if you didn't, So thank

46
00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:37,080
Speaker 1: you so much for being here. And you know we're

47
00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:40,200
Speaker 1: going to talk about that moment. Now, I am often

48
00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:43,240
Speaker 1: on the other side of the microphone, and you know,

49
00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:47,200
Speaker 1: very honest people ask me about things that have happened

50
00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:49,800
Speaker 1: in my life. And you know, often we tell our

51
00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:52,520
Speaker 1: stories whether we're at a bar, meaning you don't have

52
00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:54,200
Speaker 1: to be a famous person, but you know people away

53
00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:58,440
Speaker 1: from and you kind of got your old right. And

54
00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:01,639
Speaker 1: I want to find out about that moment, that critical

55
00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:03,400
Speaker 1: moment in your life. But I'm going to dig much

56
00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:07,919
Speaker 1: deeper into it after we get to it. Now, why

57
00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:12,320
Speaker 1: did you tell me about a moment that really affected

58
00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:14,880
Speaker 1: your life, good, bad, or in different A lot of

59
00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:18,040
Speaker 1: times the things that in the moment that affect us

60
00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:20,839
Speaker 1: in a negative way, the moment is really something that

61
00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:25,120
Speaker 1: fuels our passion. But can you remember a moment in

62
00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:30,560
Speaker 1: your life when it just really changed your thought process

63
00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:35,360
Speaker 1: or anything that you believe led you to who you

64
00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:36,000
Speaker 1: are today.

65
00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:38,880
Speaker 4: Yes, well, I.

66
00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:41,320
Speaker 3: Think it's a great question, first of all to go

67
00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:44,240
Speaker 3: in and think about these because we all have those

68
00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:45,120
Speaker 3: pivotal moments.

69
00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:45,880
Speaker 2: Yep.

70
00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:49,160
Speaker 3: And the reason why I picked that moment for me

71
00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:53,640
Speaker 3: was I was really torn between three different moments, and

72
00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:57,320
Speaker 3: the first two I had very little to do with,

73
00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:02,560
Speaker 3: but then were transformative. The first was we survived tuberculosa,

74
00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:07,240
Speaker 3: I mean my sister, and that was really that. You know,

75
00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:10,120
Speaker 3: my mom got us to a hospital in Ethiopia. She

76
00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:14,560
Speaker 3: passed away, but my sister and I.

77
00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:19,760
Speaker 1: Survived tuberculosis and your mother got you to the hospital,

78
00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:22,440
Speaker 1: but yet she would end up passing.

79
00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:26,000
Speaker 3: Yeah, so that was the moment. Obviously that was game

80
00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:31,240
Speaker 3: changing for us. But I really, you know, I can't

81
00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:32,839
Speaker 3: recollect if we were kids.

82
00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:35,040
Speaker 4: But here's another thing that happened.

83
00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:39,720
Speaker 3: I always talked about goodness of others, Right, random people

84
00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:42,440
Speaker 3: that come in your life that gives you a break

85
00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:45,360
Speaker 3: for no other reason that they're just they're just good people.

86
00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:48,960
Speaker 4: That nurse in the hospital that was part of saving us.

87
00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:51,200
Speaker 4: Not only did she.

88
00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:54,159
Speaker 3: Take a chance on us, she broke the law. She

89
00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:56,640
Speaker 3: took us in. She had three kids of.

90
00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:57,160
Speaker 4: Her own day.

91
00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:01,200
Speaker 3: She was a single mother, but she knew if I'm

92
00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:03,160
Speaker 3: just going to put these kids on the street, they

93
00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:04,080
Speaker 3: have nowhere to go.

94
00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:08,120
Speaker 2: So she so she took you into her home, into

95
00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:10,839
Speaker 2: her family, and.

96
00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:14,360
Speaker 4: Set us up for adoption. Right, that's another big moment.

97
00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:17,719
Speaker 3: Right, that's where I'm going from being in Ethiopia and

98
00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:21,640
Speaker 3: then eventually being adopted to Sweden, and I think both

99
00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:24,719
Speaker 3: of these moments are giantics are huge, like game changing

100
00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:25,080
Speaker 3: for me.

101
00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:30,839
Speaker 4: But it was all happened between sort.

102
00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:35,760
Speaker 3: Of one and four a little, very little, you know,

103
00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:38,520
Speaker 3: I have very little impact on it. But those were

104
00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:40,920
Speaker 3: the two moments, two three moments I was thinking about.

105
00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:43,920
Speaker 3: But I picked another moment because I was.

106
00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:46,039
Speaker 4: Young adult.

107
00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:47,880
Speaker 3: That was kind of a you know, I was twenty,

108
00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:50,960
Speaker 3: in my twenties. If you ask me, then I would

109
00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:52,640
Speaker 3: have been a full grown adult. But you know, it

110
00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:53,880
Speaker 3: is two.

111
00:05:54,279 --> 00:05:56,520
Speaker 4: You still think you figuring it out. So that was

112
00:05:56,720 --> 00:05:58,680
Speaker 4: my moment that that is the moment that I choose

113
00:05:58,720 --> 00:05:59,640
Speaker 4: to talk to you about today.

114
00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:03,960
Speaker 1: Okay, so now you're a young adult you and you know,

115
00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:07,280
Speaker 1: in the context of what you just said, you'd already

116
00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:12,200
Speaker 1: faced things that many people wouldn't losing you're losing your mother,

117
00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:16,240
Speaker 1: your sister, and you you know, survived t berculosis, assuming

118
00:06:16,279 --> 00:06:20,159
Speaker 1: that many other people in the area of the region

119
00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:26,280
Speaker 1: were not as fortunate. You you're young and you're one, two, four,

120
00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:29,000
Speaker 1: and I understand that. So you know your friends, you know,

121
00:06:29,279 --> 00:06:31,520
Speaker 1: at that moment, they're not like you're ten, You're not

122
00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:34,080
Speaker 1: maybe as attached to that, but you also are now

123
00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:37,760
Speaker 1: not attached to the most I mean your mother, right,

124
00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:41,320
Speaker 1: So now you're you're you're in a whole nother country.

125
00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:48,680
Speaker 1: So of course you already start with a very challenging sort.

126
00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:51,479
Speaker 1: But let's get to the moment that you have decided

127
00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:54,440
Speaker 1: to concentrate on. We all have a lot of moments

128
00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:55,760
Speaker 1: in our lives, but this is the one that you

129
00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:59,200
Speaker 1: think that we can really dig into and get to

130
00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:03,240
Speaker 1: how that created the the marketers are today.

131
00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:03,599
Speaker 4: Yeah.

132
00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:10,320
Speaker 3: So at this point I'm a young chef, but not

133
00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:16,120
Speaker 3: only that, I'm doing it at the highest level and

134
00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:20,960
Speaker 3: almost like an athlete. When I'm sixteen seventeen, I'm starting

135
00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:26,000
Speaker 3: to win scholarships to go abroad. I'm cooking in Japan

136
00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:28,880
Speaker 3: a date of eighteen. I'm cooking in Switzerland where people

137
00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:31,880
Speaker 3: are throwing French and German speaking at you in different languages.

138
00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:35,480
Speaker 3: And I'm not doing this by myself. I have my

139
00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:38,880
Speaker 3: parents behind me, but also have mentors that see something

140
00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:41,120
Speaker 3: probably more in me than I can see in myself

141
00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:44,560
Speaker 3: at that earth eighteen nineteen twenty, and they're setting me up.

142
00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:47,720
Speaker 3: And this is like the NBA, right you are now

143
00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:52,120
Speaker 3: the highest level is three star Michland in France, and

144
00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:56,320
Speaker 3: eventually I get to get a chance to work in.

145
00:07:56,280 --> 00:07:59,040
Speaker 4: One of those three star Michland places again.

146
00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:03,040
Speaker 3: My French at point is my third language, but I'm

147
00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:05,000
Speaker 3: doing it at this level. So I'm like, wow, this

148
00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:08,160
Speaker 3: is amazing. I worked there for a year for free,

149
00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:13,840
Speaker 3: by the way, but I'm loving it. Right, I find myself.

150
00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:17,360
Speaker 3: I'm successful. I'm doing it. I can master this. I

151
00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:22,160
Speaker 3: now belong. So it's my contract is up. I talked

152
00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:24,840
Speaker 3: to chef and he gives you basically fifteen minutes, right,

153
00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:27,360
Speaker 3: so he already has to plan set out for you.

154
00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:28,920
Speaker 4: Bare looks at you. His's chef.

155
00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:32,560
Speaker 3: He's like, okay, mister Simson, thank you for this great year,

156
00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:34,400
Speaker 3: go home, come back.

157
00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:35,040
Speaker 4: In two months.

158
00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:38,000
Speaker 3: I'm going to set you up for another place, also

159
00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:42,800
Speaker 3: three star, and we go from there. You know, there's

160
00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:45,120
Speaker 3: a line of the door with kids who wants this job.

161
00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:48,440
Speaker 4: Right. They're all saying, yes, chef, and just leave right.

162
00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:52,760
Speaker 3: And I said, Chef, I can't take the job. It's like,

163
00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:56,560
Speaker 3: what do you mean, Well, I think it's time for

164
00:08:56,600 --> 00:09:03,840
Speaker 3: me to start building my own restaurant. My goal is

165
00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:06,920
Speaker 3: to have a restaurant like yours one day. He says,

166
00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:09,959
Speaker 3: it's not possible. What are you talking about? He looks up.

167
00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:12,079
Speaker 3: He says, it's not possible. What are you talking about?

168
00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:16,480
Speaker 3: He said, listen to me. Now, as a black kid,

169
00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:20,000
Speaker 3: you can work in a restaurant because people like me

170
00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:21,600
Speaker 3: allow you to work in a restaurant.

171
00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:24,160
Speaker 4: You can never own a restaurant.

172
00:09:24,679 --> 00:09:27,600
Speaker 3: I said, I said, black chef, not do the goals

173
00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:31,120
Speaker 3: and ambitions that you have. And he said, just to clearify,

174
00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:33,640
Speaker 3: do you know any black chef in France that has

175
00:09:33,679 --> 00:09:36,360
Speaker 3: a restaurant my mine? And I said, I don't know

176
00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:38,360
Speaker 3: all of France. I've only been to this village in

177
00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:42,120
Speaker 3: Paris once. And then he said, do you know anyone

178
00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:45,360
Speaker 3: in Europe? I said no, but I haven't been that.

179
00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,680
Speaker 3: I've only been to like three countries in Europe, including Sweden.

180
00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:53,000
Speaker 3: It's like, that's your answer. So if you want my job,

181
00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:55,560
Speaker 3: the job I'm giving to your ticket, go home to

182
00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:56,160
Speaker 3: your parents.

183
00:09:56,400 --> 00:09:58,160
Speaker 4: Call me in a week. You can think about it.

184
00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:00,280
Speaker 4: I'm devastating. I have no like.

185
00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:02,319
Speaker 3: This is like also my hero at the time, right,

186
00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:05,760
Speaker 3: so I'm like, I call my dad. He said, just

187
00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:08,400
Speaker 3: just come back home, just come back home. And at

188
00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:10,760
Speaker 3: that point, to save money, I take the train back home.

189
00:10:10,840 --> 00:10:13,240
Speaker 3: That's thirty six hours gives you a lot of time

190
00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:13,679
Speaker 3: to think.

191
00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:17,319
Speaker 4: Right, right, I come back home, he says. My dad says,

192
00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:19,160
Speaker 4: do you know anyone in New York?

193
00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:21,679
Speaker 5: I said, I do. Do you think you can get

194
00:10:21,679 --> 00:10:24,120
Speaker 5: a job in New York? Absolutely? I have a really

195
00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:27,360
Speaker 5: good resume, I have a good CV. There's a Swedish restaurant.

196
00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:29,840
Speaker 5: I think I can get a job there. He said, good,

197
00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:31,040
Speaker 5: You're going to New York.

198
00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:35,679
Speaker 4: I said, why there was a black mayor there?

199
00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:40,120
Speaker 3: And if there was, David yep is that if they

200
00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:45,280
Speaker 3: support a black mayor, that city will support a black

201
00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:46,040
Speaker 3: owned restaurant.

202
00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:48,520
Speaker 4: Hmm. That's why I came to.

203
00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:49,080
Speaker 2: New York City.

204
00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:51,880
Speaker 4: And I think I've been fueled.

205
00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:57,240
Speaker 3: And you know how we are as entrepreneurs, particularly as

206
00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:02,480
Speaker 3: black entrepreneurs, we almost like athletes in a way. It's

207
00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:06,119
Speaker 3: a sport. We get ready for it. We grind, we practiced,

208
00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:10,360
Speaker 3: but we need something that fuels us. And this story,

209
00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:14,000
Speaker 3: it has fueled me, not in a negative way some

210
00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:18,520
Speaker 3: anger at the world, but in enough chip so I

211
00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:21,720
Speaker 3: can use it to my to sort of like this

212
00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:23,120
Speaker 3: is part of one of my wives.

213
00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:25,480
Speaker 2: Guys.

214
00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:27,440
Speaker 1: So let me let me dig into that a little

215
00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:30,000
Speaker 1: further and I'll ask you the easier ones first that

216
00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:34,440
Speaker 1: many people may know. I was unaware that at sixteen

217
00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:37,840
Speaker 1: and seventeen young kids, and I know there are shows

218
00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:42,400
Speaker 1: out there, I was unaware that there was organizations and

219
00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:46,200
Speaker 1: or ways to compete where you are going around the world.

220
00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:51,040
Speaker 1: And so that's that's something that you wanted to be

221
00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:53,640
Speaker 1: part of. Did your parents put you in there initially?

222
00:11:53,679 --> 00:11:56,360
Speaker 1: Like how did you get into that? And we don't

223
00:11:56,360 --> 00:11:58,319
Speaker 1: have to go deep into that, I just want to

224
00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:02,760
Speaker 1: know how did that even start and how you get

225
00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:04,400
Speaker 1: to go around the world as competitions.

226
00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:05,920
Speaker 4: Well, you've got to.

227
00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:08,280
Speaker 3: Look at it as a designer, right where you take

228
00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:12,000
Speaker 3: an apprenticeship. Cooking is a craft, just like being a

229
00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:14,280
Speaker 3: fashion designer, which you come tolu that world.

230
00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:14,920
Speaker 4: You understand the.

231
00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:17,280
Speaker 3: World very well well and in order to be the best,

232
00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:19,280
Speaker 3: you got to work with best, even if you're in

233
00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:22,240
Speaker 3: the corner just sweeping the floors at the best restaurant

234
00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:25,439
Speaker 3: in the world, at least there sweeping that floor a

235
00:12:25,440 --> 00:12:30,520
Speaker 3: little bit different and that was we looked at these

236
00:12:30,559 --> 00:12:35,920
Speaker 3: great restaurants in Europe as you know, the places to

237
00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:38,440
Speaker 3: be because there was crafts ship there.

238
00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:39,959
Speaker 4: There was nohow there.

239
00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:42,880
Speaker 3: Right and I knew that I needed to get out

240
00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:45,720
Speaker 3: of Gothenburg, which is a great city, but it's not

241
00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:48,400
Speaker 3: a great city necessarily if you're an ambitious young chef,

242
00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:49,680
Speaker 3: particularly looking like me.

243
00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:52,040
Speaker 2: Well at sixteen, I mean, you still have to go

244
00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:52,720
Speaker 2: to school.

245
00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:55,880
Speaker 1: And when I think about, I happened to live actually

246
00:12:56,600 --> 00:12:59,600
Speaker 1: really close to the Culinary Institute in New York. And

247
00:12:59,679 --> 00:13:04,520
Speaker 1: those college kids and or full grown adults, where were

248
00:13:04,559 --> 00:13:07,040
Speaker 1: you getting your skill? You had to go to school

249
00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:10,400
Speaker 1: or were you kind of working? Were you having formal

250
00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,199
Speaker 1: training or you were working under could be like you said,

251
00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:16,640
Speaker 1: sweeping floors, working in restaurants and are brilliant, brilliant people.

252
00:13:16,679 --> 00:13:19,160
Speaker 1: Where were you getting your skills from?

253
00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:22,520
Speaker 4: Both? Actually, so my school saw me early.

254
00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:25,440
Speaker 3: They I went to cooking school, but you also had

255
00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:27,679
Speaker 3: to do English Swedish maths and all that stuff.

256
00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:31,640
Speaker 4: But they knew that I was advanced and saw it.

257
00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:35,040
Speaker 3: And there's like, you can do your practical hours at

258
00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:38,079
Speaker 3: this restaurant, top restaurant in Gothenburg. And then so three

259
00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:40,439
Speaker 3: days a week I was doing restaurant work, and two

260
00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:42,640
Speaker 3: days a week and it flipped every other week I

261
00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:43,719
Speaker 3: was doing sort of.

262
00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:48,440
Speaker 4: You know, English maths. All of these different things, And

263
00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:48,920
Speaker 4: so I.

264
00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:52,480
Speaker 3: Had people that constantly were willing to work with the

265
00:13:52,600 --> 00:13:56,079
Speaker 3: system and push me because they saw that I had

266
00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:58,720
Speaker 3: the ambition for it. And I had the guidance of

267
00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:02,319
Speaker 3: my parents to say, hey, we don't know that much

268
00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:05,920
Speaker 3: about food, but you need to be an around structure.

269
00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:10,160
Speaker 4: Wherever I was sent there was formative instructure, structure, structure.

270
00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:29,920
Speaker 1: So it's fascinating because at fifteen sixteen, I had a

271
00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:33,960
Speaker 1: similar program in my school that didn't teach such a

272
00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:37,040
Speaker 1: great skill, a life skill, but it's called a co

273
00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:40,320
Speaker 1: op program, and every other week I can work and

274
00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:43,200
Speaker 1: get credits. And my escape to get out of being

275
00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:46,600
Speaker 1: dyslexic and challenge and work a challenge of school was

276
00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:49,440
Speaker 1: to go. And I happened to be a foot messenger

277
00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:52,200
Speaker 1: in Manhattan. I worked at what today would be the

278
00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:54,920
Speaker 1: defunct Lehman Brothers. I was a foot messenger and I

279
00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:57,320
Speaker 1: would walk up and down the block with these packages.

280
00:14:57,360 --> 00:15:00,800
Speaker 1: But yet I would walk into large offices. I always

281
00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:03,000
Speaker 1: see a lot of, you know, white people, but I

282
00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:05,760
Speaker 1: would also see the corner of my eye a lot

283
00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:09,480
Speaker 1: of professional African Americans, and it opened my eyes a

284
00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:11,560
Speaker 1: little bit more to business. I got out of queens

285
00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:16,920
Speaker 1: and I would deliver packages to large companies and organizations.

286
00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:20,760
Speaker 1: But let's get into that moment. So that moment you

287
00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:22,720
Speaker 1: are a young adult you hit to New York City.

288
00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:26,800
Speaker 1: What year David Dinkins was the mayor? Around ninety two?

289
00:15:26,920 --> 00:15:27,560
Speaker 1: Ninety three?

290
00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:28,440
Speaker 4: Right, yeah, I want to.

291
00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:30,800
Speaker 3: Say eighty nine to maybe like yeah, like you said

292
00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:31,920
Speaker 3: ninety three or something like that.

293
00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:35,280
Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, So I want to right before you go there,

294
00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:38,480
Speaker 1: you spent a year in a three star working on

295
00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:41,320
Speaker 1: the three star chef. You are working for free. You

296
00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:44,480
Speaker 1: got to take a train ride home on thirty six hours.

297
00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:47,200
Speaker 1: You have zero sounds like you know what I like

298
00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:48,960
Speaker 1: to talk about the moment. I think that music is

299
00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:51,640
Speaker 1: a soundtrack to our lives. So you know, I just

300
00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:54,440
Speaker 1: pulled up as I was talking to you, Not sure

301
00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:57,760
Speaker 1: what was cranking over in Paris those days.

302
00:15:57,400 --> 00:15:58,680
Speaker 4: But I know I could tell you.

303
00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:02,440
Speaker 1: I could tell you what what song was motivating you

304
00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:04,360
Speaker 1: that because I'm gonna go over this is this is

305
00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:08,680
Speaker 1: just a fun fact. Right here was Billboard's top top ten. Right,

306
00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:11,680
Speaker 1: I will always love you bye with Houston?

307
00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:15,160
Speaker 2: Who it is? Tag team? Oh?

308
00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:17,560
Speaker 4: You said, yep, like you you already knew that, huh.

309
00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:20,120
Speaker 1: I can't help fall and love you before they that's

310
00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:23,160
Speaker 1: the way love goes Jana Jackson where she looks sexy

311
00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:25,480
Speaker 1: on that one. And by the way, jayl is in

312
00:16:25,560 --> 00:16:29,080
Speaker 1: that video actually oh yeah, she definitely is.

313
00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:32,920
Speaker 2: Freak Me by Silk Weak s WV.

314
00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:36,120
Speaker 1: If I have a fall in Love by Sean dream

315
00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:39,960
Speaker 1: Lover Marii Carrie, Oh we got another one. We got

316
00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:43,440
Speaker 1: another one, kind of sexy one. We had Womp there

317
00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:48,880
Speaker 1: it is, and now we got rump Shaker and Informa

318
00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:51,760
Speaker 1: by Snow. Now you may have another song that you love,

319
00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:54,200
Speaker 1: but when you're working at that restaurant for free and

320
00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:57,000
Speaker 1: taking that ride thirty six hours on a train, I'm

321
00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:59,400
Speaker 1: sure it took you had taken more, many more rides

322
00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:02,280
Speaker 1: and walk plenty of places. What was the song you

323
00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:06,920
Speaker 1: recall being, Whether it was a song that was empowering you

324
00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:09,280
Speaker 1: or whether a song that was cooling out?

325
00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:10,840
Speaker 2: What was the song happening?

326
00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:12,480
Speaker 1: Then it could it may not be one of those,

327
00:17:12,560 --> 00:17:14,560
Speaker 1: but just gave you a little recollection of what was

328
00:17:14,600 --> 00:17:14,959
Speaker 1: going on.

329
00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:18,840
Speaker 3: Well, I want to take it even before that, you

330
00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:22,640
Speaker 3: know music if you're a black person in Europe at

331
00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:25,879
Speaker 3: that point, because we didn't have internet, so finding a

332
00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:29,679
Speaker 3: black radio station. Finding our culture was much harder, right

333
00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:31,720
Speaker 3: because we didn't have cable. I had cable in my

334
00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:33,760
Speaker 3: house in Sweden, but here I didn't have access to

335
00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:39,240
Speaker 3: videos and stuff like that. So getting getting CD sent

336
00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:42,760
Speaker 3: down by my friends, and I remember, uh, you know,

337
00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:46,200
Speaker 3: just coming to the States and like, listen to Drey

338
00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:49,399
Speaker 3: that whole summer, because that's the summer where where uh,

339
00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:52,800
Speaker 3: Drace comes out with his album and changes you know,

340
00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:55,760
Speaker 3: the Chronic. The Chronic comes out that summer and it

341
00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:59,639
Speaker 3: just changes everything. But then you know everything that you

342
00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:03,080
Speaker 3: just said that right, A voice like Whitney and Whitney

343
00:18:03,119 --> 00:18:05,720
Speaker 3: got played everywhere in Europe. So Whitney we heard. I

344
00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:08,800
Speaker 3: heard a lot. Even Mariah, you heard a lot because

345
00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:11,760
Speaker 3: it's like it's bigger than Whitney. Mariah is bigger than

346
00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:15,200
Speaker 3: music almost right, it's just everywhere, right because it's more pop.

347
00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:19,040
Speaker 3: It's pop and R and B combined. But the people

348
00:18:19,119 --> 00:18:26,280
Speaker 3: that truly inspired me was people like Prince Tribe called Quest.

349
00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:28,240
Speaker 3: I was fascinated by Tribe.

350
00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:29,520
Speaker 2: I've never tried.

351
00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:33,120
Speaker 3: Yeah, I was like, how can these young guys put

352
00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:39,080
Speaker 3: on something as sophisticated and and I loved hip hop

353
00:18:39,119 --> 00:18:40,040
Speaker 3: the Tribe was something.

354
00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:41,720
Speaker 4: It's just different.

355
00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:45,120
Speaker 1: Is there a specific song that you it was your

356
00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:50,200
Speaker 1: go to song when you were in Paris.

357
00:18:50,119 --> 00:18:53,320
Speaker 2: At what some could have felt your lowest.

358
00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:57,520
Speaker 1: Moment, And did that song move over with you to

359
00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:01,879
Speaker 1: New York? I?

360
00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:03,680
Speaker 3: I mean, now I'm going back, but Prince, that would

361
00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:07,400
Speaker 3: be Prince. It would be every song. I love Sign

362
00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:09,800
Speaker 3: of the Times. I love that whole album, but I

363
00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:12,199
Speaker 3: love Sign That, I love the Cross.

364
00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:15,000
Speaker 1: I just love going to Sign of the Times. Yes,

365
00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:17,680
Speaker 1: all right, yes, yes, I don't want to even start

366
00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:22,480
Speaker 1: with Man then now doing Hawses in June? What were

367
00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:25,760
Speaker 1: you What were you thinking about? Because there was no

368
00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:29,119
Speaker 1: promise of anything. You got beat down, You're going to

369
00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:32,560
Speaker 1: another place that the odds are you will get beat

370
00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:37,000
Speaker 1: down again. Was Sign of the Times? Was you on

371
00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:41,000
Speaker 1: the subway in New York City? Was it on heavy repeat?

372
00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:44,080
Speaker 1: Because obviously we didn't have you didn't walk around with

373
00:19:44,119 --> 00:19:46,760
Speaker 1: a boombox, there was you only had your CDs. You

374
00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:49,439
Speaker 1: kept going to it was Sign of the Times something

375
00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:52,320
Speaker 1: where he talks about basically the way the world has changed,

376
00:19:52,359 --> 00:19:57,200
Speaker 1: and that uh crack and you know things are happening

377
00:19:57,280 --> 00:19:59,920
Speaker 1: and people are trying to you know, go to the

378
00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:02,840
Speaker 1: but they're not saving those here well sign the time.

379
00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:06,320
Speaker 1: It's one of those things like I'm changing with the times,

380
00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:10,399
Speaker 1: or that I'm going to fight against these times and

381
00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:12,159
Speaker 1: I'm going to change the time.

382
00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:14,600
Speaker 2: Not me, I'm going to change.

383
00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:18,080
Speaker 3: I just remember being really young and I was part

384
00:20:18,119 --> 00:20:20,480
Speaker 3: of a team where we cooked for Prince right, and

385
00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:23,800
Speaker 3: I remember the moment of practicing for that and we

386
00:20:23,800 --> 00:20:25,760
Speaker 3: were I was selected to be part of that. Prince

387
00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:28,679
Speaker 3: came to Gothenburg, I went to see the concert. I

388
00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:31,119
Speaker 3: got a chance to go to there after after event,

389
00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:33,399
Speaker 3: and we cooked for princes three or four days he was

390
00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:34,600
Speaker 3: in Gieburg.

391
00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:37,520
Speaker 4: I didn't leave the team. I'm just a kid, but

392
00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:38,960
Speaker 4: that was a big moment.

393
00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:43,520
Speaker 3: And that and for me looking at black excellence, I

394
00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:47,920
Speaker 3: saw it very much in Michael and Prince in Basqueya, but.

395
00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:49,520
Speaker 4: All of those guys were older than me.

396
00:20:51,080 --> 00:20:54,439
Speaker 3: The thing with the early hip hop, whether it was

397
00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:59,840
Speaker 3: Rakim or it was Tribe called Quest or something like that,

398
00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:03,120
Speaker 3: like Tribe was basically my age, a little bit older

399
00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:05,840
Speaker 3: than me, and I was just like it was so

400
00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:10,679
Speaker 3: sophisticated in a way, like I wanted to reach that

401
00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:14,679
Speaker 3: level of excellence. It wasn't only the music. You know,

402
00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:16,080
Speaker 3: when I came to New York, it's a lot of

403
00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:20,880
Speaker 3: POC played. Pac was everywhere big. It just started to pop,

404
00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:23,679
Speaker 3: but pop was probably whf you just walk to New

405
00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:25,520
Speaker 3: York at down your reflection.

406
00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:27,840
Speaker 1: Your reflection of music that I'm thinking about, whether it's Prince,

407
00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:29,520
Speaker 1: whether it's Tribe, whether it was Pac.

408
00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:31,760
Speaker 2: It was very much of.

409
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:38,320
Speaker 1: Dig deep into what's happening and be aware of the

410
00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:42,680
Speaker 1: moment we're in right now when there are various different

411
00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:47,600
Speaker 1: challenges internally and externally. You're agoing, you're gonna go against

412
00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:49,639
Speaker 1: but I'm kind of I'm with you and we have

413
00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:52,520
Speaker 1: to do this. That's kind of the feel of all

414
00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:54,400
Speaker 1: three of those arts, of those songs at that time.

415
00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:56,360
Speaker 2: Let me get further into.

416
00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:59,959
Speaker 1: That though, because you you get up and leave, you know,

417
00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:03,120
Speaker 1: did you have a I mean you're a young man,

418
00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:05,320
Speaker 1: I old you at that time, I.

419
00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:08,080
Speaker 3: Mean anywhere from like nineteen to twenty two, twenty three.

420
00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:12,480
Speaker 1: That is the moment where you are, you're a young

421
00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:17,960
Speaker 1: adult and you have generally love interest. Yeah, was there

422
00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:22,000
Speaker 1: a love interest in your life at that time when

423
00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:25,199
Speaker 1: you were told no, when you decided to get up

424
00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:26,000
Speaker 1: and go to New York?

425
00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:29,240
Speaker 4: Yeah, absolutely.

426
00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:36,080
Speaker 3: I was dating as serious girlfriend, but I knew that

427
00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:37,760
Speaker 3: I had to break up.

428
00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:42,280
Speaker 4: With her to move forward with the food, right, And.

429
00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:45,359
Speaker 1: It was with a decision. You feel that she wasn't supportive.

430
00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:47,520
Speaker 1: Do you feel like you didn't want to hinder? Is

431
00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:49,840
Speaker 1: there a reason why you broke up with her? Why

432
00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:52,320
Speaker 1: wouldn't you just say, Hey, I'm gonna go make it

433
00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:53,800
Speaker 1: and if not, I'm gonna come back.

434
00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:57,840
Speaker 4: I'll tell you there's a couple of things to this.

435
00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:01,480
Speaker 4: You know, I grew up.

436
00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:04,000
Speaker 3: My parents gave me a lot of confidence leaving the

437
00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:06,679
Speaker 3: house because they knew that, as you know, we were

438
00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:09,000
Speaker 3: the only black family not only in the village but

439
00:23:09,119 --> 00:23:14,119
Speaker 3: like basically in our town. Right, so our parents raised

440
00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:18,520
Speaker 3: us in a very specific way of people dealing with consequences.

441
00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:22,680
Speaker 4: But they also knew that if we do well, you're

442
00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:24,560
Speaker 4: going to get your shots. But you're not going to

443
00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:26,600
Speaker 4: get two shots. You're not going to get three shots.

444
00:23:27,119 --> 00:23:28,480
Speaker 4: They were very clear about.

445
00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:31,920
Speaker 3: And that's you know, white parents raising three black kids

446
00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:34,000
Speaker 3: in a time.

447
00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:38,720
Speaker 2: Where your parents were white. Yeah, adopted parents.

448
00:23:39,080 --> 00:23:39,840
Speaker 4: Parents are white.

449
00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:43,760
Speaker 3: So it's not like the hat well, this is what

450
00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:46,879
Speaker 3: happened to Uncle Jonas or you know, Auntie so and so.

451
00:23:47,359 --> 00:23:50,000
Speaker 3: It was only their gut instinct right, and the informative

452
00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:54,160
Speaker 3: information from the news and so on. But they knew

453
00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:56,119
Speaker 3: you're going to get a shot because you're going to

454
00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:56,800
Speaker 3: do well.

455
00:23:57,080 --> 00:23:58,080
Speaker 4: And you take that shot.

456
00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:02,040
Speaker 1: So how do you know the woman as being a

457
00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:05,080
Speaker 1: young man coming into your own how do you know

458
00:24:05,119 --> 00:24:08,119
Speaker 1: the woman was in that shot? I mean, by my

459
00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:11,120
Speaker 1: many accounts, meeting somebody and falling in love, you said

460
00:24:11,119 --> 00:24:12,399
Speaker 1: you were serious. I don't know if you were in

461
00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:15,560
Speaker 1: love or not. But how do you know that wasn't

462
00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:20,560
Speaker 1: the shot? How did you in that moment? It sounds

463
00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:22,439
Speaker 1: like you didn't even think twice. You knew that you

464
00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:24,040
Speaker 1: had to make certain sacrifices.

465
00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:27,520
Speaker 4: I knew that I could take care. I could. I

466
00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:30,480
Speaker 4: could do this on my own. I could not.

467
00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:33,680
Speaker 3: You know, like you have to understand, I'm coming to

468
00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:36,080
Speaker 3: New York. I have a job, but I don't really

469
00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:38,240
Speaker 3: have a place to stay. I find a place to

470
00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:41,920
Speaker 3: stay with four roommates. It's grimy. As a young boy

471
00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:43,840
Speaker 3: in the twenties, I could deal with that. I don't

472
00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:47,560
Speaker 3: want any not my girlfriend to go through that apartment.

473
00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:48,920
Speaker 4: And maybe would she.

474
00:24:49,359 --> 00:24:51,600
Speaker 3: And it's all about this mentality of I think it's

475
00:24:51,640 --> 00:24:54,200
Speaker 3: part of being black, but probably be an immigrant, that

476
00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:56,560
Speaker 3: this is the load that I can carry right now,

477
00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:00,000
Speaker 3: come back to me in two years. Let me get

478
00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:02,280
Speaker 3: I had a little bit of headway here and I

479
00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:03,320
Speaker 3: can come back for you.

480
00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:07,400
Speaker 4: But I knew I could not carry one more thing.

481
00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:12,600
Speaker 1: So you you, you basically did what you felt was

482
00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:14,960
Speaker 1: the best for both of you. I think you had

483
00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:18,040
Speaker 1: to take that shot, you know, did that ever?

484
00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:19,199
Speaker 4: Did you ever go back for her?

485
00:25:20,359 --> 00:25:20,439
Speaker 2: No?

486
00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:22,640
Speaker 3: But we're friends still still to this day, and she's

487
00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:24,399
Speaker 3: had a very and she had a great life and

488
00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:28,919
Speaker 3: eventually travel the world, have two wonderful kids, and you know,

489
00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:32,680
Speaker 3: we're we're still deeply friends, good great friends to this day.

490
00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:36,480
Speaker 3: And I think she understood that decision as hard as

491
00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:40,200
Speaker 3: as it was back then. And you know, I'm still

492
00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:41,840
Speaker 3: friends with her parents.

493
00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:45,840
Speaker 1: Did the two years because a lot of us think that,

494
00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:48,119
Speaker 1: you know, we you know, what's the saying you on

495
00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:51,960
Speaker 1: You overestimate what you can accomplish in one year, and

496
00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:54,680
Speaker 1: you underestimate what you can accomplish in whatever ten years

497
00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:57,840
Speaker 1: the two years in the event that she was everything

498
00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:00,000
Speaker 1: was good. Did you make it to where you felt

499
00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:02,560
Speaker 1: comfortable in two years when you got to New York City.

500
00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:07,840
Speaker 3: I don't think I've ever felt comfortable, and I don't

501
00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:09,760
Speaker 3: know if it's a good thing to feel comfortable.

502
00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:10,879
Speaker 4: Why that.

503
00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:17,360
Speaker 3: I think as a creative person, I I.

504
00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:21,080
Speaker 4: Constantly have to know where do we want to go?

505
00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:22,040
Speaker 2: Where?

506
00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:26,040
Speaker 4: What's what's what's past? Present, future?

507
00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:30,640
Speaker 3: And I think as a creative I always think about present,

508
00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:34,600
Speaker 3: but also what's coming. So, you know, back then, it

509
00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:36,800
Speaker 3: was about filling the restaurant. We were lucky enough to

510
00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:42,120
Speaker 3: fill the restaurant. Eventually it was about being part of lists,

511
00:26:42,119 --> 00:26:46,320
Speaker 3: making money, get some awards. We checked, We checked all

512
00:26:46,359 --> 00:26:50,320
Speaker 3: of those boxes. After that it became building my own

513
00:26:50,359 --> 00:26:53,240
Speaker 3: restaurant company. But guess what, As you know, life is

514
00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:58,440
Speaker 3: not linear. When nine to eleven happened, it changed everything. Ah.

515
00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:02,800
Speaker 3: And the only time where I kind of been closest

516
00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:06,520
Speaker 3: thing to depressed is after nine eleven. The weekend before that,

517
00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:10,960
Speaker 3: I cooked in the towers. I knew thirty people, young

518
00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:16,960
Speaker 3: cooks that passed. I asked myself five hundred times, how

519
00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:19,199
Speaker 3: come I wasn't there that day? And and you know,

520
00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:21,439
Speaker 3: you know you can ask yourself so questions. It's not healthy,

521
00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:24,480
Speaker 3: But I was like, what am I doing?

522
00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:26,679
Speaker 4: Like why am I cooking for the one percent of

523
00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:27,359
Speaker 4: the one percent?

524
00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:28,400
Speaker 5: What are you doing?

525
00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:30,920
Speaker 3: And you're changing my life, my life, my life and

526
00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:47,920
Speaker 3: my life. Well there was, there was, there's I would

527
00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:52,320
Speaker 3: look at comfort as almost as a cake with different

528
00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:57,120
Speaker 3: transhes and slices, and you're absolutely right, you have to

529
00:27:57,119 --> 00:27:58,000
Speaker 3: slice out.

530
00:27:57,920 --> 00:27:58,679
Speaker 4: Have two slices.

531
00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:01,600
Speaker 3: That is your comfort, which is your family, which is

532
00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:04,159
Speaker 3: your loved one, And you got to be in that moment.

533
00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:08,119
Speaker 3: But if there's another six slices left. As a creative,

534
00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:12,560
Speaker 3: as an ambitious person, as somebody driving a team, you

535
00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:14,480
Speaker 3: always got to look a little bit to your left

536
00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:19,239
Speaker 3: and to your right. And I felt, for example, I

537
00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:22,760
Speaker 3: was constantly situations where I was the only black person

538
00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:25,040
Speaker 3: in the room. And when I say in the room,

539
00:28:25,119 --> 00:28:29,040
Speaker 3: I'm in the totality of it, from purveyors to guests,

540
00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:33,240
Speaker 3: two chefs. I knew that I wanted to be part

541
00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:37,399
Speaker 3: of changing that right, did not know how, but just

542
00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:39,920
Speaker 3: knew that this. I know so many black chefs that

543
00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:45,840
Speaker 3: are cooking. How come I don't see them in in media?

544
00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:49,200
Speaker 3: What's really going on here? And of course we know

545
00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:52,920
Speaker 3: that we come far. But back then, in the early

546
00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:57,840
Speaker 3: two thousands, before internet and food really hitting the quality

547
00:28:57,840 --> 00:29:01,000
Speaker 3: of food was very, very very different. New who could cook,

548
00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:03,200
Speaker 3: what food and what was considered good food.

549
00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:10,200
Speaker 4: And you know, eventually I moved to Harlem.

550
00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:12,760
Speaker 3: I did not know that I would open Red Rooster

551
00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:16,320
Speaker 3: right away, but that's where I started. I started Red

552
00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:21,440
Speaker 3: Rooster really as a love letter to African American culture,

553
00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:26,320
Speaker 3: but also for me to understand, how can we open

554
00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:30,120
Speaker 3: these stores and make any more opportunities for black chefs,

555
00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:33,280
Speaker 3: black white makers and so on. I did not know

556
00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:35,880
Speaker 3: that early two thousand, I had to walk There was

557
00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:39,320
Speaker 3: a seven to eight year gap to understand that none

558
00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:44,240
Speaker 3: of that was comfortable. I'm black, we share all blackness.

559
00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:47,120
Speaker 3: But guess what, you are a New Yorker and although

560
00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:49,160
Speaker 3: you grew up in Brooklyn, you were still familiar with

561
00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:52,120
Speaker 3: Harlem in a way as a black person, as an African,

562
00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:55,960
Speaker 3: I doore Harlem. We know about the Apollo and Studio

563
00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:59,080
Speaker 3: Museum and even Schomberg, but I did not know how

564
00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:00,800
Speaker 3: it was to live here.

565
00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:06,000
Speaker 4: I did not have the same traditions. Those were all things.

566
00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:08,360
Speaker 3: You know, to go to a black church, to know

567
00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:11,680
Speaker 3: what the procedures are, to know when to jump in,

568
00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:12,680
Speaker 3: went to stay out.

569
00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:15,400
Speaker 4: All of those things I had to learn outside my

570
00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:16,520
Speaker 4: comfort zone.

571
00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:20,760
Speaker 3: But I also became in New Yorker that way, and

572
00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:24,120
Speaker 3: I loved staying outside my comfort zone. I think being

573
00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:26,720
Speaker 3: an immigrant is part of being outside your comfort zone

574
00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:29,000
Speaker 3: because you just don't know the riches of that place.

575
00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:34,760
Speaker 3: There were actually three Swedish black kids. We all did

576
00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:38,160
Speaker 3: different things, but we knew that New York was the

577
00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:39,320
Speaker 3: place where we.

578
00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:39,920
Speaker 4: Wanted to come to.

579
00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:44,960
Speaker 3: One of Somalian Swedish, another one with Ethiopian Swedish, and

580
00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:48,400
Speaker 3: the third the third one was Eritrey and Ethiopian Swedish.

581
00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:49,240
Speaker 4: We're all from East.

582
00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:54,680
Speaker 3: Africa, grew up in Sweden, but knew that coming to

583
00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:57,360
Speaker 3: New York is with a better fit for us at

584
00:30:57,360 --> 00:31:01,040
Speaker 3: that time, doing different things in the it feels, but

585
00:31:01,160 --> 00:31:04,680
Speaker 3: always coming back home sharing that story. What was the

586
00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:07,760
Speaker 3: hustle for you today? What was the advantages you did?

587
00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:11,680
Speaker 3: What was the stops that you got right? And and

588
00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:14,840
Speaker 3: we kind of had to, like I tell you, we

589
00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:16,560
Speaker 3: were just I was just as happy as now.

590
00:31:16,840 --> 00:31:18,360
Speaker 1: You know, it seems like you were always around the

591
00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:21,800
Speaker 1: go getter mentality and you kept moving right. You would

592
00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:26,800
Speaker 1: you move from you know, as a fifteen and sixteen

593
00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:30,240
Speaker 1: year old, you move from country to country to to compete,

594
00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:33,800
Speaker 1: and then you were obviously you moved to France for

595
00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:37,240
Speaker 1: a little while, and then you, you know, moved to

596
00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:39,560
Speaker 1: America and you say it with three guys who are

597
00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:45,120
Speaker 1: all immigrants as well. I mean you listen, everybody listening

598
00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:48,480
Speaker 1: to this now unless they are Native American, either they

599
00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:50,440
Speaker 1: or their parents were immigrants.

600
00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:52,800
Speaker 2: And I believe that when you come.

601
00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:56,040
Speaker 1: To another country, you you start to appreciate, especially America,

602
00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:58,959
Speaker 1: you start to appreciate what the opportunities they give you.

603
00:31:59,320 --> 00:32:02,280
Speaker 1: I happened to open a community where we were many

604
00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:04,040
Speaker 1: of us were born and raised here. And if I

605
00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:06,520
Speaker 1: would have four people living in the same place or

606
00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:08,280
Speaker 1: five people, not all of us would end up with

607
00:32:08,280 --> 00:32:12,920
Speaker 1: the same kind of you know, or be in the

608
00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:15,120
Speaker 1: same journey to all want to just improve. And a

609
00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:18,280
Speaker 1: lot of my friends had passed away or they're in jail.

610
00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:21,760
Speaker 1: What kept you all on the what kept you all

611
00:32:21,760 --> 00:32:24,360
Speaker 1: as you said you were? You guys were talking about

612
00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:26,680
Speaker 1: every hustle every night kind of privately, like how you

613
00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:29,640
Speaker 1: have maybe applied for another job where you met more friends. Well,

614
00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:32,920
Speaker 1: what kept you all there in Unison? Why did anybody

615
00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:34,520
Speaker 1: go you know what, I'm going to take some of

616
00:32:34,520 --> 00:32:37,480
Speaker 1: the easier routes in life. I just don't want to

617
00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:38,360
Speaker 1: work that hard.

618
00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:43,320
Speaker 3: Well, working that hard was not an option that was

619
00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:47,240
Speaker 3: off the plate because we were ambitious and we were

620
00:32:47,280 --> 00:32:51,000
Speaker 3: black voices, and we knew that although America is not

621
00:32:51,120 --> 00:32:55,000
Speaker 3: perfect and New York is not perfect, but we knew

622
00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:58,760
Speaker 3: there was a shot for us to be heard here

623
00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:02,800
Speaker 3: at some point, right, and that was our hope.

624
00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:08,480
Speaker 4: I think, you know, it's this dual existence. I remember

625
00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:10,880
Speaker 4: Rodney kinging happened, right it.

626
00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:16,800
Speaker 3: I don't think I've ever been as scared watching something

627
00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:17,800
Speaker 3: like that on TV.

628
00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:20,680
Speaker 4: Right, this happened in a modern society.

629
00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:21,160
Speaker 2: You know.

630
00:33:21,280 --> 00:33:26,320
Speaker 3: We were here through the nineties, through very difficult Giuliani time,

631
00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:31,000
Speaker 3: and how how a lot of young black boys, particularly

632
00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:37,840
Speaker 3: you know, really got hurt by the administration and the police,

633
00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:38,360
Speaker 3: tax force.

634
00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:40,960
Speaker 4: So this was real. This was going on.

635
00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:44,920
Speaker 3: But at the same time, we felt we were also

636
00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:48,760
Speaker 3: making progress as young professionals. We thought it was exciting.

637
00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:51,520
Speaker 3: One of my friends he worked at a photo studio

638
00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:55,200
Speaker 3: and one of my friends was a photographer photographers system.

639
00:33:55,720 --> 00:33:58,080
Speaker 3: You know, what if they were shooting the fujis or

640
00:33:58,120 --> 00:34:01,680
Speaker 3: something like that. You know, we came into the party,

641
00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:03,680
Speaker 3: not when everybody else got there.

642
00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:07,040
Speaker 4: We got there at two am, but we were there right.

643
00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:09,919
Speaker 4: You know, we were in the mix.

644
00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:11,719
Speaker 1: Said you got there two am because you were working

645
00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:13,800
Speaker 1: or you were online breezy.

646
00:34:13,719 --> 00:34:16,000
Speaker 4: Yeah, both. We were definitely out there at the nine

647
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:18,120
Speaker 4: o'clock start. But you guess what this is hip hop,

648
00:34:18,200 --> 00:34:20,400
Speaker 4: so people were laid anyway, so you know what I mean,

649
00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:22,120
Speaker 4: We were right on time for us.

650
00:34:22,040 --> 00:34:24,759
Speaker 3: Right, there was always something in the mix of going

651
00:34:24,760 --> 00:34:28,320
Speaker 3: to the tunnel or we always felt going to Nelson

652
00:34:28,480 --> 00:34:31,080
Speaker 3: like we were in it. We were kind of like

653
00:34:31,160 --> 00:34:33,919
Speaker 3: the small guy in the corner in the left over there,

654
00:34:34,200 --> 00:34:37,319
Speaker 3: but we were in it. And from being in a

655
00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:39,360
Speaker 3: place where it was much more comfortable, of being in

656
00:34:39,360 --> 00:34:41,759
Speaker 3: Sweden and we could have taken a regular jobs, but

657
00:34:41,840 --> 00:34:44,759
Speaker 3: we didn't feel seen, and here we felt.

658
00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:50,000
Speaker 4: Heard and seen. And that was like that dream of ambition.

659
00:34:50,440 --> 00:34:54,440
Speaker 3: That dream and hope combined with work ethic is powerful

660
00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:56,640
Speaker 3: and that's when New York City really represent.

661
00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:02,640
Speaker 1: You know, a lot of magical moments happened to you.

662
00:35:02,800 --> 00:35:06,040
Speaker 1: And you know, I want to make it abundantly clear

663
00:35:06,080 --> 00:35:09,120
Speaker 1: that you know you're as my Jewish stepfather taught me,

664
00:35:09,239 --> 00:35:11,480
Speaker 1: be pro black but never anti anything else.

665
00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:17,040
Speaker 2: And what I think that I think that we need.

666
00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:22,360
Speaker 1: To acknowledge that the people that adopted you are were white.

667
00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:26,040
Speaker 1: I think that they pushed you to be very very

668
00:35:26,040 --> 00:35:29,320
Speaker 1: pro black, very proactive about what you were doing in life.

669
00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:33,600
Speaker 1: But that didn't change your uh, you know, your your

670
00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:38,439
Speaker 1: concept on you know, on on you know, black white

671
00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:41,279
Speaker 1: relations I'm I happen to be in a biracial relationship.

672
00:35:42,480 --> 00:35:44,200
Speaker 1: What would you say to people black white are in

673
00:35:44,239 --> 00:35:46,560
Speaker 1: different listening to you right now, who see your level

674
00:35:46,600 --> 00:35:49,640
Speaker 1: of success and they're like, man, this person is so successful,

675
00:35:49,640 --> 00:35:51,920
Speaker 1: they've been through so much, but even at this point

676
00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:55,080
Speaker 1: in his life, you know, he's not He's not resting

677
00:35:55,080 --> 00:35:57,920
Speaker 1: on his laurels and we should do the same. But

678
00:35:58,200 --> 00:36:01,680
Speaker 1: more importantly, some people are in their careers like many

679
00:36:01,719 --> 00:36:04,520
Speaker 1: of us, what would you say to them about how

680
00:36:04,560 --> 00:36:07,279
Speaker 1: you're raising your children after all you've been through and

681
00:36:09,200 --> 00:36:12,080
Speaker 1: you know, what would you tell your children now that

682
00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:14,440
Speaker 1: don't necessarily have to face those same times?

683
00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:18,319
Speaker 3: You know, well, I taught I said earlier that I

684
00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:22,840
Speaker 3: came out of the house with confidence because I was

685
00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:27,120
Speaker 3: loved and I was not just loved by both my parents,

686
00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:33,000
Speaker 3: my grandparents, my uncles, my aunties. Although we didn't look

687
00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:37,279
Speaker 3: the same that we were Samuelson kids were never a

688
00:36:37,320 --> 00:36:41,799
Speaker 3: doubted so I was lucky enough to come from a

689
00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:44,520
Speaker 3: super sort of loved household.

690
00:36:45,239 --> 00:36:48,640
Speaker 4: Well, there was all kinds of chaos as any family, right.

691
00:36:48,760 --> 00:36:51,880
Speaker 3: We had the drunk uncle, we had the crazy auntie.

692
00:36:52,239 --> 00:36:55,040
Speaker 3: But we were loved and that gave me sens a

693
00:36:55,120 --> 00:36:58,680
Speaker 3: place and confidence that is stronger. That was stronger than

694
00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:04,360
Speaker 3: anything I think that you know that combination with my father.

695
00:37:04,480 --> 00:37:07,360
Speaker 3: He was a geologist and he loved his job, he

696
00:37:07,440 --> 00:37:09,920
Speaker 3: loved his craft and he was the one I always

697
00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:13,600
Speaker 3: said to me, find something that you're passionate about, the

698
00:37:13,719 --> 00:37:17,880
Speaker 3: money will come. And when I found cooking, it really

699
00:37:18,640 --> 00:37:22,000
Speaker 3: there was no turning back. And I am as passionate

700
00:37:22,040 --> 00:37:28,279
Speaker 3: about craftsmanship, building teams, finding new kids to teach and

701
00:37:28,440 --> 00:37:34,520
Speaker 3: mentor working with young younger generation, setting up the older generation.

702
00:37:34,719 --> 00:37:39,360
Speaker 3: So there's been, you know, opportunities for not just myself

703
00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:42,319
Speaker 3: but the next generation as well. You have to be

704
00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:45,759
Speaker 3: passionate of what you do. If not get out of

705
00:37:45,760 --> 00:37:48,680
Speaker 3: the game, do something else you can make There's so

706
00:37:48,719 --> 00:37:50,760
Speaker 3: many ways you can make money, whether it's on stock

707
00:37:50,800 --> 00:37:52,759
Speaker 3: markets or whether that's as long as you're health. There

708
00:37:52,760 --> 00:37:56,640
Speaker 3: there's so many ways you can earn a living, but

709
00:37:56,880 --> 00:38:01,120
Speaker 3: for me, the passion the craft, and we see it

710
00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:04,600
Speaker 3: in front of us right. Think about musicians that goes

711
00:38:04,880 --> 00:38:08,279
Speaker 3: into the eighties, you know, and still creating. Why is

712
00:38:08,400 --> 00:38:11,759
Speaker 3: Lebron still playing? Not because he needs to check? Why

713
00:38:11,800 --> 00:38:14,440
Speaker 3: is Ronald who still playing soccer in Saudi Arabia. Yes

714
00:38:14,440 --> 00:38:16,200
Speaker 3: he gets paid a lot of money, but that's not

715
00:38:16,320 --> 00:38:18,799
Speaker 3: his reason for getting up. I can guarantee you that

716
00:38:18,840 --> 00:38:21,640
Speaker 3: Ronald looking Lebron can make a lot of money doing other.

717
00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:24,080
Speaker 4: Things because of the love of the game.

718
00:38:24,239 --> 00:38:26,600
Speaker 3: And for me is I'm deeply in love with the

719
00:38:26,600 --> 00:38:29,479
Speaker 3: craftsmanship of cooking and the people in it.

720
00:38:29,680 --> 00:38:33,600
Speaker 4: And until if I'm not curious tomorrow I should quit.

721
00:38:34,360 --> 00:38:36,840
Speaker 3: I should quit and I work thirty years of my life.

722
00:38:36,920 --> 00:38:39,279
Speaker 3: If I can convert that to making money, I've done

723
00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:39,880
Speaker 3: something wrong.

724
00:38:40,200 --> 00:38:41,160
Speaker 4: So I'm very clear on that.

725
00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:46,640
Speaker 2: You know, we went down a great path with you.

726
00:38:47,040 --> 00:38:50,719
Speaker 1: Have you ever talked or ever seen or communicated with

727
00:38:50,800 --> 00:38:56,480
Speaker 1: that chef that put your life on a different path

728
00:38:56,640 --> 00:38:58,480
Speaker 1: due to that special moment.

729
00:38:58,920 --> 00:39:02,560
Speaker 3: Yes, one of these might lead. One of my chefs

730
00:39:02,600 --> 00:39:06,200
Speaker 3: passed and I went back. We took a train ride

731
00:39:06,200 --> 00:39:08,920
Speaker 3: together when we opened a place in Sweden and I said,

732
00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:12,319
Speaker 3: you have to be here, and the fact that he

733
00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:15,120
Speaker 3: walked in with me, we did it together. He was

734
00:39:15,239 --> 00:39:17,880
Speaker 3: the first person that sent me to Europe, out in Europe,

735
00:39:18,400 --> 00:39:21,479
Speaker 3: and I was almost more exciting walking in with him

736
00:39:21,920 --> 00:39:24,600
Speaker 3: than opening the damn place, because I felt it was

737
00:39:25,160 --> 00:39:30,120
Speaker 3: It was really my way of saying thank you to him.

738
00:39:30,560 --> 00:39:32,200
Speaker 4: This year I went back to Switzerland.

739
00:39:32,280 --> 00:39:34,080
Speaker 3: I met my chef there that I haven't seen in

740
00:39:34,120 --> 00:39:37,640
Speaker 3: twenty five years, for thirty years, it is very important

741
00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:42,879
Speaker 3: for me to be in the moment, give back, set

742
00:39:42,920 --> 00:39:44,960
Speaker 3: it past for the future, but also say thank you

743
00:39:45,040 --> 00:39:48,320
Speaker 3: to the people. Anyone want to sell I'm self made.

744
00:39:48,640 --> 00:39:51,360
Speaker 3: I always feel like, too bad for you, that's lonely.

745
00:39:51,880 --> 00:39:52,640
Speaker 4: No one is self.

746
00:39:53,040 --> 00:39:56,359
Speaker 3: So many people has been there for us and opened

747
00:39:56,440 --> 00:39:57,000
Speaker 3: it up.

748
00:39:57,920 --> 00:40:01,240
Speaker 4: And seeing things in myself that I wasn't even capable

749
00:40:01,239 --> 00:40:06,280
Speaker 4: to see. So yes, and I enjoyed those moments.

750
00:40:06,320 --> 00:40:08,920
Speaker 3: And now when I see my guys that are like

751
00:40:08,960 --> 00:40:11,560
Speaker 3: fifteen years younger, ten years younger than me starting their

752
00:40:11,560 --> 00:40:14,799
Speaker 3: own businesses, now I'm like, let's be there at the opening.

753
00:40:14,960 --> 00:40:18,040
Speaker 4: Let's support that is he still alive that show. No

754
00:40:18,239 --> 00:40:22,080
Speaker 4: chef passed about eight years ago.

755
00:40:22,160 --> 00:40:29,600
Speaker 1: So but and when you when you well, you had

756
00:40:29,600 --> 00:40:30,879
Speaker 1: obviously spoken to him more.

757
00:40:32,719 --> 00:40:33,320
Speaker 2: Did he.

758
00:40:34,640 --> 00:40:37,920
Speaker 1: Did he regret what he said or he only said

759
00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:41,040
Speaker 1: that through the lens of what he had noticed. Did

760
00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:44,840
Speaker 1: he say that, listen, I was only giving you obviously

761
00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:48,160
Speaker 1: you didn't have any hard feelings. I don't have any

762
00:40:48,160 --> 00:40:49,960
Speaker 1: hard feelings for my father who left when I was

763
00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:53,000
Speaker 1: ten years old. But did he reflect on that moment

764
00:40:53,040 --> 00:40:55,120
Speaker 1: and kind of say I'm glad you proved me wrong?

765
00:40:55,840 --> 00:40:59,960
Speaker 2: Was it? What was the feeling of that that initial

766
00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:01,080
Speaker 2: kind of conversation.

767
00:41:03,160 --> 00:41:06,640
Speaker 3: I realized that he was a very very talented chef,

768
00:41:07,840 --> 00:41:11,719
Speaker 3: but very limited in his life experience as the way

769
00:41:11,760 --> 00:41:12,760
Speaker 3: we know the world today.

770
00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:16,680
Speaker 4: Yes, he's basically traveled to Paris him.

771
00:41:16,520 --> 00:41:19,719
Speaker 3: Back a couple of times, but then ultimately state in

772
00:41:19,719 --> 00:41:21,160
Speaker 3: that village where he cooked.

773
00:41:21,880 --> 00:41:25,279
Speaker 4: So he saw a very very very limited view of

774
00:41:25,320 --> 00:41:25,800
Speaker 4: the world.

775
00:41:26,719 --> 00:41:30,040
Speaker 3: And there was a moment in France actually when I

776
00:41:30,080 --> 00:41:32,719
Speaker 3: realized that first, and I was just not quick enough

777
00:41:32,719 --> 00:41:35,040
Speaker 3: to pick it up. Then we were going to Paris

778
00:41:35,040 --> 00:41:37,360
Speaker 3: one day and I said to my one of his guys,

779
00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:40,160
Speaker 3: what do you guys want I'm gonna be in Paris

780
00:41:40,239 --> 00:41:41,520
Speaker 3: fore to day. I'm gonna have a couple of hours

781
00:41:41,520 --> 00:41:44,279
Speaker 3: off all they wanted was for me to go to

782
00:41:44,320 --> 00:41:46,279
Speaker 3: hard rock Cafe and pick up a baseball hat to

783
00:41:46,360 --> 00:41:49,920
Speaker 3: said harder cafe. And in that moment, I realized, like, what,

784
00:41:51,040 --> 00:41:54,200
Speaker 3: this is what you want because it showed how limited

785
00:41:54,239 --> 00:41:58,879
Speaker 3: they were in the life experiences, right, Yeah, And so

786
00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:04,800
Speaker 3: I holding negative thoughts eats on you. It eats inside,

787
00:42:04,960 --> 00:42:08,520
Speaker 3: like you know, and to know how to channel that

788
00:42:08,640 --> 00:42:12,319
Speaker 3: out and knowing that he was he's definitely he wasn't

789
00:42:12,320 --> 00:42:13,560
Speaker 3: definitely not a bad person.

790
00:42:14,040 --> 00:42:15,920
Speaker 4: He just was limited in his view.

791
00:42:16,360 --> 00:42:18,200
Speaker 3: But it took some years to work that off, and

792
00:42:18,200 --> 00:42:20,040
Speaker 3: I had to talk a lot to my parents about it.

793
00:42:20,360 --> 00:42:20,560
Speaker 2: You know.

794
00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:22,280
Speaker 4: It was tough.

795
00:42:23,280 --> 00:42:25,600
Speaker 1: Yeah, but I think he brought something that a lot

796
00:42:25,640 --> 00:42:28,400
Speaker 1: of us don't really consider.

797
00:42:28,480 --> 00:42:31,360
Speaker 2: You know, we're all growing every day we've.

798
00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:32,719
Speaker 1: Earned something new, and I think there's a lot of

799
00:42:32,760 --> 00:42:34,960
Speaker 1: people in our lives as we go through life and

800
00:42:35,000 --> 00:42:37,719
Speaker 1: meet people that just didn't grow with you. They came

801
00:42:37,760 --> 00:42:42,200
Speaker 1: from different times and places, and you know, you know,

802
00:42:42,239 --> 00:42:44,279
Speaker 1: we take it very personal. But if that was his

803
00:42:44,480 --> 00:42:48,640
Speaker 1: only understanding of the world, he can only share with

804
00:42:48,719 --> 00:42:51,480
Speaker 1: you that. It doesn't mean that the man was not

805
00:42:51,560 --> 00:42:54,279
Speaker 1: a brilliant chef, not someone he would tell you about

806
00:42:54,320 --> 00:42:58,640
Speaker 1: the moon and the stars. You cannot know everything all

807
00:42:58,719 --> 00:43:02,040
Speaker 1: the time. I have said I'm you know many times

808
00:43:02,040 --> 00:43:04,919
Speaker 1: in the past that, as I reflect on, thank god

809
00:43:04,960 --> 00:43:07,160
Speaker 1: social media wasn't out when I was a young man,

810
00:43:07,239 --> 00:43:11,640
Speaker 1: I've done very very stupid things because or non educated

811
00:43:11,680 --> 00:43:13,880
Speaker 1: thing because I just had this limited view of what

812
00:43:13,960 --> 00:43:16,560
Speaker 1: I knew. And I'm glad that you never held that

813
00:43:16,680 --> 00:43:18,640
Speaker 1: against them, even though you were through it. But as

814
00:43:18,680 --> 00:43:22,640
Speaker 1: you grew as an adult, you know, you show that

815
00:43:22,960 --> 00:43:25,960
Speaker 1: you can move past what other people have done and

816
00:43:26,200 --> 00:43:29,600
Speaker 1: really bring them along with you, sometimes a sebiotic relationship.

817
00:43:29,680 --> 00:43:32,319
Speaker 1: So I gotta tell you, man, I think I thank

818
00:43:32,320 --> 00:43:37,000
Speaker 1: you so much for sharing you know, that moment you

819
00:43:37,040 --> 00:43:39,239
Speaker 1: know with us, and there was several moments in there

820
00:43:39,280 --> 00:43:41,240
Speaker 1: that I will take away and I hope our listeners

821
00:43:41,239 --> 00:43:45,120
Speaker 1: will listen to your journey and understand how they can

822
00:43:45,160 --> 00:43:47,359
Speaker 1: apply some of the main things that you have done

823
00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:49,319
Speaker 1: or relate to it. Many of them are going through

824
00:43:49,360 --> 00:43:52,279
Speaker 1: those moments right now and then apply it to themselves. Man,

825
00:43:52,280 --> 00:43:54,640
Speaker 1: So I really appreciate everything you do and everything you

826
00:43:54,719 --> 00:43:57,439
Speaker 1: have done and spending this moment with us.

827
00:43:58,200 --> 00:44:01,080
Speaker 3: I thank you, hey man, We all always I always

828
00:44:01,120 --> 00:44:03,760
Speaker 3: appreciate talking to you I learned something new each time,

829
00:44:04,080 --> 00:44:09,160
Speaker 3: and keep inspiring us, keep staying out there because we

830
00:44:09,200 --> 00:44:12,640
Speaker 3: all need shines and great we all need great examples,

831
00:44:13,120 --> 00:44:16,239
Speaker 3: something to look up to, but also something to learn from.

832
00:44:16,320 --> 00:44:18,319
Speaker 3: And I think this is great that you have this

833
00:44:18,440 --> 00:44:21,839
Speaker 3: podcast because it's a different moment than watching something on TV.

834
00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:24,880
Speaker 3: You can just plug in and really go back and

835
00:44:24,960 --> 00:44:27,960
Speaker 3: learn something. So I appreciate you, and I'll see you

836
00:44:28,000 --> 00:44:31,360
Speaker 3: in Bahamas or in Miami soon, all right, you'll see me,

837
00:44:31,400 --> 00:44:32,880
Speaker 3: all right, man, appreciate when.

838
00:44:33,160 --> 00:44:34,760
Speaker 1: By the way, before we leave, you want to promote

839
00:44:34,800 --> 00:44:36,480
Speaker 1: I mean I want to hear about you have so

840
00:44:36,520 --> 00:44:37,000
Speaker 1: many places.

841
00:44:37,040 --> 00:44:39,000
Speaker 2: I think I was in Atlanta, was leaving early, and

842
00:44:39,840 --> 00:44:41,320
Speaker 2: you're not going to mark This is a new place.

843
00:44:42,560 --> 00:44:45,200
Speaker 1: Everybody's coming in from around the world from the new place.

844
00:44:45,360 --> 00:44:45,640
Speaker 4: Something.

845
00:44:46,760 --> 00:44:49,960
Speaker 2: Just drop what are your new places or all your places?

846
00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:50,520
Speaker 2: Really quick?

847
00:44:50,719 --> 00:44:52,280
Speaker 4: Yeah? Quick? New place?

848
00:44:52,440 --> 00:44:55,400
Speaker 3: Have more that you've been to in Chelsea beautiful place.

849
00:44:55,719 --> 00:44:58,480
Speaker 3: And then markets bar and grill in Atlanta. I'm so

850
00:44:58,560 --> 00:44:59,960
Speaker 3: excited to be in Atlanta.

851
00:45:00,280 --> 00:45:01,360
Speaker 2: What's the name of it in Atlanta?

852
00:45:01,640 --> 00:45:03,680
Speaker 4: Marcus Bar and Groun, Marcus Barn Grell.

853
00:45:03,719 --> 00:45:05,719
Speaker 2: That's a pretty easy name to remember.

854
00:45:05,760 --> 00:45:07,640
Speaker 4: Right, Keep it a sin from that old age. There

855
00:45:07,640 --> 00:45:07,840
Speaker 4: you go.

856
00:45:09,239 --> 00:45:12,560
Speaker 1: Thank you so much Marcus for being on today and

857
00:45:12,600 --> 00:45:14,440
Speaker 1: sharing some of those very special moments.

858
00:45:14,440 --> 00:45:15,399
Speaker 2: I mean, thank you, Mindro.

859
00:45:15,400 --> 00:45:18,080
Speaker 1: I'm taking away a lot. It also has reinforced some

860
00:45:18,120 --> 00:45:19,719
Speaker 1: of the things that I've done in the past that

861
00:45:19,760 --> 00:45:23,520
Speaker 1: I remember and think about, how can I go back

862
00:45:23,560 --> 00:45:26,200
Speaker 1: to that kind of power of broke mentality and apply

863
00:45:26,320 --> 00:45:28,960
Speaker 1: them today? And I hope that everybody takes away all

864
00:45:28,960 --> 00:45:31,640
Speaker 1: this information that you've given us because I reflect on

865
00:45:31,680 --> 00:45:33,440
Speaker 1: it and I feel like I'm on a good path.

866
00:45:34,120 --> 00:45:35,960
Speaker 2: So thank you very much, man.

867
00:45:36,040 --> 00:45:39,120
Speaker 1: I wish you all the best, and thank you for

868
00:45:39,160 --> 00:45:42,840
Speaker 1: sharing this moment with us. That Moment with Damon John

869
00:45:43,040 --> 00:45:46,400
Speaker 1: is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network. For

870
00:45:46,520 --> 00:45:50,319
Speaker 1: more podcasts from the Black Effect Podcast Network, visit the

871
00:45:50,400 --> 00:45:54,840
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your

872
00:45:54,880 --> 00:45:58,319
Speaker 1: favorite show and don't forget to subscribe to the show

873
00:45:58,440 --> 00:46:01,160
Speaker 1: and rate the show. You can all connect with me

874
00:46:01,400 --> 00:46:06,879
Speaker 1: on any social media platform at the Shark daymon as

875
00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:08,600
Speaker 1: in Raymond with a d