Chef Marcus Samuelsson’s fried yardbird royale

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Ethiopian by birth and Swedish by adoption, Chef Marcus Samuelsson has carved out a place for himself on the international food scene with more than a dozen restaurants that criss-cross the map. From Scandinavia and Bermuda to New York and Chicago, Samuelsson’s menus are inspired by the culinary practices and ingredients from all the places he’s lived. His latest book, “The Red Rooster Cookbook: The Story of Food and Hustle in Harlem,” is named for the restaurant he opened six years ago and the community he is trying to build around it.

Samuelsson explains that for the first time since moving to New York City in 1991, Harlem provided “a sense of place and a community and an understanding [of] oneself.” Because “when you see Harlem, you see America.” Both his restaurant and cookbook reflect the rich history and culture of the neighborhood. “It’s not an African-American tale. It’s an American tale. Beautiful, ugly, delicious, spicy confusing…but it’s our tale. And that takes many narratives to tell the story.”

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Chef Marcus Samuelsson’s fried yardbird royale. (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)