Supporting Celebrity Chefs

At just 39, Marcus Samuelsson has received more accolades than many chefs receive in a lifetime. A graduate of the Culinary Institute in Gothenburg, Sweden, Samuelsson apprenticed in Switzerland, Austria, France and the U.S. In 1995, he was hired as Aquavit’s Executive Chef. Just three months later, Aquavit received a three-star review from The New York Times. He has also been celebrated as one of “The Great Chefs of America” by The Culinary Institute of America. 

Samuelsson is the author of four successful cookbooks. His most recent, The Soul of a New Cuisine–A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa, was released in October 2006, and won the honor of "Best International Cookbook" from the James Beard Foundation. In 2007, Samuelsson became the first chef to collaborate with Starbucks coffee, delivering bakery items and coffee blends.

Marcus is an ambassador for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF and serves on the Board of Directors of Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP). 

In the 39 years since its
inception, Chef Perrier and Le Bec-Fin have received the highest accolades in the hospitality industry. Le Bec-Fin has been the only Philadelphia dining establishment to receive the five-star rating from the Mobil Travel Guide for a total of twenty-three years standing. In 1994, readers of Condé Nast Traveler magazine chose Le Bec-Fin as the #1 restaurant in the country. The restaurant continues to gar­ner top honors in prestigious publications such as Gourmet, Food & Wine, Esquire and Wine Spectator magazines.

Chef Tom Colicchio may be best known as the head judge on Bravo’s hit reality cooking series “Top Chef.” The Emmy-nominated show premiered its fifth season in Fall 2008.

Colicchio has been recognized consistently as one of the country's premier chefs. Early in his career, Food & Wine magazine named him one of the top 10 “Best New Chefs” in the U.S. He's also been named “Best Chef, New York” by the prestigious James Beard Foundation. The New York Times deemed his flagship restaurant, Craft, “a vision of food heaven.”

Chef Tom regularly appears on local and national television shows, including The Today Show, The Martha Stewart Show and ABC’s Nightline. He also continues to be celebrated in food and lifestyle publications such as Saveur, Gourmet, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Esquire, GQ and New York Magazine. 

He lives in the West Village with his wife, Lori Silverbush, and teenage son.