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MANILA, Philippines - Who is the Swedish celebrity chef who has brought his unique international style of cooking to the US, and served as guest chef for the first state dinner of the Obama presidency?
He was born in 1970 in Ethiopia, and was later adopted by a Swedish couple, Anna Marie and Lennart Samuelsson, after which he lived in Gothenburg, Sweden.
After becoming interested in cooking because of his maternal grandmother in Sweden, he studied at the Culinary Institute in Gothenburg. He apprenticed in Switzerland and Austria, and came to the US in 1991 as an apprentice at Restaurant Aquavit.
At 24, he became executive chef of Aquavit, and soon after that became the youngest ever to receive a restaurant review from The New York Times. In 2003, he was named Best Chef: New York City by the James Beard Foundation. That same year, he started a second New York restaurant, Riingo, serving Japanese-influenced American food.
In addition to his recognition as a world-class chef, he is also an award-winning cookbook author with titles in both English and Swedish. His 2006 African-inspired cookbook, The Soul of a New Cuisine received the Best International Cookbook Prize by the James Beard Foundation. He has also written Aquavit and the New Scandinavian Cuisine, En Smakresa (A Journey of Tastes), and Street Food.
He had a television show, Inner Chef, which aired in 2005 on the Discovery Home Channel and yet another program, Urban Cuisine, which aired on BET J/Cenmtric in 2008. His cooking combines international influences with traditional cuisines from Sweden to Japan and Africa.
On Nov. 24, 2009, he served as guest chef for the first state dinner of the Barack Obama presidency. The dinner, in honor of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the country of India, was served on the South Lawn and largely vegetarian. He reportedly sought to combine sustainable and regional foods that reflected the best in American cuisine yet evoked the flavors of India. Harvesting fresh vegetables and herbs from the White House garden, his menu included red lentil soup, roasted potato dumplings, and green curry prawns.
He shares his culinary skills with the next generation of chefs as a Visiting Professor of International Culinary Science at the Umea University (Umea University School of Restaurant and Culinary Arts in Sweden and an advisor to the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City.
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Last week’s question: Who is this Italian painter, sculptor, interior decorator, and engraver who created more than 11,000 items, many featuring the face of a woman, operatic soprano Lina Cavalieri, as a motif?
Answer: Piero Fornasetti
Winner: Lydia Paguio, Cubao, Quezon City
Text your answer to 09175166111 with your name and address. One winner will be chosen through a raffle of texts with the correct answer. The winner will receive P2,000 worth of SM gift certificates for use at Our Home, SM Department Store, or SM Supermarket. They can claim their prize at Our Home in SM Megamall. Bring photocopies of two valid IDs and a clipping of the Design Quiz issue in which you appear as winner.
