Interview, Fireside Chat
Marcus Samuelsson, Chef and Author of "The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food"
- The outlook posits that Black food culture is currently at the beginning of a significant expansion due to its vast, layered complexity, driven by a sustained American desire to learn new culinary lessons emerging from the pandemic.
- A specific medium-term goal is for Black cuisine to achieve ubiquitous availability comparable to Italian food across American neighborhoods, with access facilitated through online platforms, supermarkets, and restaurants.
- The "Black Business Matters Matching Fund," in partnership with Uber Eats, is projected to actively drive traffic and revenue toward Black businesses, a strategy justified by the anticipated disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on infection and mortality rates in Black and brown communities.
- Material expectations include a shift in media discourse where specific Black dishes, such as Haitian griot, are discussed with the same familiarity as Italian pasta varieties like orecchiette or tortellini, signaling progress in racial equity.
- Strategic plans involve simultaneous efforts to highlight and challenge media coverage, create content, develop young talent, acknowledge historical contexts, and produce books to build industry aspirations.
- Leadership trajectories are expected to shift following the appointment of visible leaders like Dawn Davis, which is anticipated to alter the long-term direction of content creation for the organization.
- The speaker maintains optimism regarding future Black food access, contingent on the continuous creation of platforms and conversations, alongside the thriving presence of Black food across the country.