[3] As detailed in Samuelsson's appearance on Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown[4] he and his elder sister, Fantaye,[2] were separated from their family during the turmoil of the Ethiopian Civil War that began in 1974.

Subsequently, the siblings were adopted by Anne-Marie and Lennart Samuelsson, a homemaker and a geologist, respectively, who lived in Gothenburg, Sweden.

[2] After becoming interested in cooking through his maternal grandmother in Sweden, Samuelsson studied at the Culinary Institute in Göteborg (Gothenburg) where he was raised.

[citation needed] At 24, Samuelsson became executive chef of Aquavit and soon afterwards became the youngest ever to receive a three-star restaurant review from The New York Times.

[citation needed] In addition to his recognition as a world-class chef, Samuelsson is a cookbook author with titles in both English and Swedish.

Other titles written by Samuelsson are Aquavit and the New Scandinavian Cuisine, En Smakresa ("A Journey of Flavour"), and Street Food.

[5][6] He had a television show, Inner Chef, which aired in 2005 on Discovery Home Channel and yet another program in 2008, Urban Cuisine on BET J (now Centric).

The dinner, in honor of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh[9] was served on the South Lawn and largely vegetarian.

Samuelsson reportedly sought to combine sustainable and regional foods which reflect the best in American cuisine yet evoke the flavors of India.

Harvesting fresh vegetables and herbs from the White House Garden, Samuelsson included red lentil soup, roasted potato dumplings, and green curry prawns on his menu.

[21] In fall 2023, Samuelsson opened a new restaurant, "Metropolis", inside the new Perelman Performing Arts Center (PACNYC) in downtown New York City, next to Ground Zero.

[citation needed] On 28 June 2012, Samuelsson was the subject of an extensive interview on Fresh Air with Terry Gross on NPR.

[27] In May 2017, Marcus Samuelsson appeared in the final episode of Undercover Boss to find and mentor new culinary talent.

[29] On 22 April 2019, Samuelsson appeared on Top Chef Canada Season 7, Episode 4 as a guest judge for a Nordic ingredients challenge.

[35] The book gained favorable reviews and won the James Beard Foundation award for Writing and Literature related to food.

[36] After the success of Yes, Chef in 2015 Samuelsson published Make it Messy: My Perfectly Imperfect Life, aimed at young adults.

[37] In 2020, Sameulsson released The Rise, a cookbook with Osayi Endolyn, Yewande Komolafe, Tamie Cook, and Angie Mosier.