No Passport Required

Picture: Chef Marcus Samuelsson at Red Rooster Harlem

Credit: Courtesy of Matt Dutile

No Passport Required, a new six-part series airing Tuesdays July 10-August 14, 2018 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV, is hosted and produced by internationally renowned chef Marcus Samuelsson.

No Passport Required will celebrate America’s diverse cultural mosaic as Samuelsson travels to under-explored parts of American cities to showcase the people, places and culinary flavors of immigrant communities.  

Chef Samuelsson — co-owner of New York’s critically acclaimed Red Rooster Harlem — embodies America’s extraordinarily rich cultural diversity. Born in Ethiopia, raised in Sweden, and a proud resident of Harlem, he’s inspired by this global background to infuse his culinary experiences with diverse elements of music, history, culture and the arts. Today, he is a celebrated award-winning chef, restaurateur, author, philanthropist and food activist. Samuelsson’s accolades include earning five James Beard Awards, being named the youngest chef ever to receive a three-star review from The New York Times and having the honor of cooking for the Obama administration’s first state dinner. He is an ambassador for UNICEF, co-founder of the Harlem EatUp! Festival and the co-chair of the board of Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP).

“Chasing flavors has been my lifelong passion,” shared Samuelsson. “To now be able to bring viewers on that journey with me to these amazing communities in cities across the U.S. is truly a dream come true. We get to go deep into the markets, pull up to the roadside stands and be welcomed into homes — all the places where people share and celebrate food together.” 

No Passport Required follows Samuelsson as he explores the best global cuisine hidden in American cities, including the Arab American community in Detroit, the Vietnamese American residents in New Orleans, the Indo-Guyanese community in the New York City borough of Queens, Chicago’s Mexican population, the Ethiopian communities of Washington, DC and the Haitian community in Miami.

Detroit - Tuesday, July 10 Chef Marcus Samuelsson explores the savory tastes, sights and sounds of Detroit’s Arab American community.

New Orleans - Tuesday, July 17 Chef Marcus Samuelsson discovers how Vietnamese cuisine and culture have influenced New Orleans.

Chicago - Tuesday, July 24 Chef Marcus Samuelsson explores the Mexican American community in Chicago and learns about their heritage and culinary traditions.

Queens, NYC - Tuesday, July 31 Chef Marcus Samuelsson explores the fascinating history of the Indo-Guyanese community of Richmond Hill in New York City’s Queens.

Miami - Tuesday, August 7 Chef Marcus Samuelsson experiences the flavors and heritage of the Haitian community in Miami.

D.C. - Tuesday, August 14 Chef Marcus Samuelson, a native of Ethiopia, visits the Ethiopian community in the nation’s capital.