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In Ethiopia, food is often looked at through a strong spiritual lens, stronger than anywhere else I know. It's the focal point of weddings, births and funerals and is a daily ceremony from the preparation of the meal and the washing of hands to the sharing of meals.
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I love having a croissant and a great cup of coffee. Just one cup.
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Eating vegetarian doesn't mean you have to eat boring, humdrum dishes.
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Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday - it's a day that's American to the core and it's a day that's all about what and how we eat.
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In the hot summer months, popsicles are a perfect way to cool down while enjoying a delicious, fruity treat. Frozen, refreshing, mouth-friendly candy on a stick cannot get any better... or can it?
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Each city should have its own type of restaurant.
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People come up to me all the time and ask how I stay the way I am, and it's no secret. The first lesson a chef needs to learn is how to handle a knife; the second is how to be around all that food.
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Most of my education has been around food.
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With all the endless varieties and toppings you can add to burgers, there's no need to keep munching on the boring burgers and ketchup found at all the tailgating events and BBQs.
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Being an Ethiopian-born, Swedish-raised chef, there's nothing traditional about my Thanksgiving spread.
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I get so tickled when that pilot happens to be an African American because I rarely see that. The same is true when I go to find restaurants. I mean, most places I go, I kind of have some idea who the chef is, which is why I want to go.
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Packing lunches and going over menus is a great way to make small changes in the way your kids eat.
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Food has always been in my life. Being born in Ethiopia, where there was a lack of food, and then really cooking with my grandmother Helga in Sweden. And my grandmother Helga was a cook's cook.
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Taking dishes straight off the restaurant's menu and putting them into a cookbook doesn't work, because as a chef you have your own vision of what your food is, but you can't always explain it. Or you can't pick recipes that best illustrate who and where you are and what you're doing. And if the recipes don't work, you don't have a book.
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My father was a big influence - it was very important to him that we traveled, and he gave me my strong work ethic.
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I always suggest something fast and simple so you have more time to share with friends; and when we think of the ultimate food to serve for a football game, only one thing comes to mind - wings!
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To become a good cook is to know yourself, and I, at this point, know myself. I know myself, and I know the cook I want to be and the cook I am striving to be.
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I came into this environment where there was so much love, so much positive energy. I never heard my parents say, 'We have adopted kids.' The minute my sister Linda and I landed in Sweden, we were their kids.
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Finding creative and effective ways to simultaneously give back and economically empower people is something that is increasingly important. Not everyone can open a business and directly create jobs in the way that we have at Red Rooster Harlem.
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For decades, many blacks were reluctant to pursue a profession that was associated with servitude. If you went to school, it was to become a lawyer or doctor. Older generations didn't understand why one would spend money to learn how to chop, peel, dice, and saute vegetables when that trade could be taught at home.
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Criticism is part of the creative man's journey, and I appreciate it.
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The darker the chocolate is, the more antioxidants it contains. So when eaten in moderation - just a few bites from a well-made dark chocolate bar, for instance - there's no need to feel bad about indulging once in a while.
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The dialogue and conversation about food is everywhere - television, chat rooms, social media outlets and among everyday conversations.
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I would love to take a cooking class from Gandhi. Maybe I could teach him how to cook, and he could teach me his message. I wouldn't mind learning how to make couscous from scratch from a North African woman, either.