Innovative Characters You Need to Know: They’re USA Character Approved
In his bestselling business book The Medici Effect, Frans Johansson explained how and why great innovations often occur at the intersection of wildly different disciplines. One of the examples he cited was superstar chef Marcus Samuelsson (pictured above), who combines elements of Ethiopian and Scandinavian cuisine to create stunning culinary creations at places like Aquavit in Manhattan.
That’s why I was intrigued to see Marcus Samuelsson recently featured by prolific Chicago foodie blogger Terry Boyd as part of the official launch of USA Network’s Character Approved blog. As Boyd points out, Samuelsson is a true “global citizen” who has combined his familiarity with with the culinary traditions of different continents in unique ways:
“As you might expect, Samuelsson takes his influences from many
places–including Africa, Sweden, France, Japan, Latin America, the
United States — and he has restaurants in Chicago, Los Angeles and even back in Sweden.
But while he considers himself a “global citizen,” New York City is
definitely his home. He and his wife, Ethiopian-born model Gate Haile,
live in Harlem. Samuelsson is opening his latest restaurant, Red Rooster Harlem,
in their neighborhood sometime this fall. Named for a legendary Harlem
Renaissance speakeasy, it will feature American cuisine, a lively
neighborhood atmosphere and live music.”
On a daily basis, the USA Character Approved Blog celebrates the people, places and things
that are making a mark by positively influencing our cultural
landscape. Over ten thought leaders in Art, Food, Music,
Technology and Fashion discuss
the ideas and trends impacting the cultural landscape around us. In just the past week, Jerri Chou explained how Kopernik delivers high-tech goods to the emerging world, Marc and Sara Schiller of Wooster Collective provided a tribute to screen legend Dennis Hopper, and architecture blogger Chad Smith commented on the design aesthetic of Star Wars Modern. Going forward, the USA Character Approved bloggers will be covering other innovative contributors and tastemakers.
[image: Chef Marcus Samuelsson via the USA Character Approved Blog]
Full Disclosure: The official launch of the Character Approved
blog was a client project of Electric Artists for USA Network.
