Southern comfort food and multicultural recipes from the New York Times best-selling superstar chef Marcus Samuelsson's iconic Harlem restaurant.
When the James Beard Award-winning chef Marcus Samuelsson opened Red Rooster on Malcolm X Boulevard in Harlem, he envisioned more than a restaurant. It would be the heart of his neighborhood and a meet-and-greet for both the downtown and the uptown sets, serving Southern black and cross-cultural food. It would reflect Harlem's history. Ever since the 1930s, Harlem has been a magnet for more than a million African Americans, a melting pot for Spanish, African, and Caribbean immigrants, and a mecca for artists.
These traditions converge on Rooster's menu, with Brown Butter Biscuits, Chicken and Waffle, Killer Collards, and Donuts with Sweet Potato Cream. They're joined by global-influenced dishes such as Jerk Bacon and Baked Beans, Latino Pork and Plantains, and Chinese Steamed Bass and Fiery Noodles. Samuelsson's Swedish-Ethiopian background shows in Ethiopian Spice-Crusted Lamb, Slow-Baked Blueberry Bread with Spiced Maple Syrup, and the Green Viking, sprightly Apple Sorbet with Caramel Sauce.
Interspersed with lyrical essays that convey the flavor of the place and stunning archival and contemporary photos, The Red Rooster Cookbook is as layered as its inheritance.
BIO
MARCUS SAMUELSSON owns Red Rooster Harlem, Ginny's Supper Club, and Street Bird. He is the author of Marcus Off Duty; the New York Times bestseller Yes, Chef; the James Beard Award-winning Soul of a New Cuisine; and Aquavit. He frequently appears as a judge on Chopped and lives with his wife in Harlem.
REVIEWS
"Mr. Samuelsson was born in Ethiopia and raised in Sweden, but he has made Harlem his home, and it's clear in 'The Red Rooster Cookbook: The Story of Food and Hustle in Harlem' that he has found magic there. The restaurant, which opened in 2010, was a meditation on modern Harlem, an embrace of its past and a vision for its future -- vibrantly diverse, effortlessly cool...the book's real charm lies in what it captures: the spirit of this particular place."
--The New York Times
"While Harlem has long occupied a mythical place in the American imagination, it is also a place where human beings live, work, raise and educate their children, and eat. The revitalization of Harlem is one of the most important social and economic developments of this generation, and the role of cultural institutions is central to that process. To a list including the Studio Museum and the Schomburg Center, one must add the Red Rooster, which has rapidly become the gathering place for the cultural glitterati, where conversation and music are nourished by Marcus's sublime cuisine. Who would have thought that Ethiopia and Sweden and the American South would meet on a menu in Harlem?"
--Henry Louis Gates Jr., Harvard University
"I met Marcus Samuelsson when he was just twenty-four years old and already a three-star chef at Aquavit. His humility and humble ways impressed me so much. Marcus taught me how to appreciate the work and the cooking that I do. His inclusive cuisine served at Red Rooster personifies Harlem and the gumbo pot of this country."
--Leah Chase, Dooky Chase's Restaurant, New Orleans, Louisiana
[H] Rux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt / October 18, 2016
1.1" H x 10.1" L x 8.2" W (3.1 lbs) 384 pages