Award-winning Chef Marcus Samuelsson opens up with Iron Chef judge Nilou Motamed about his vision as a culinary artist, his African and Scandinavian aesthetics, and his celebration of food, music, culture, and art to impact the world.
Nilou Motamed has been shaping the conversation in food and travel for more than 20 years, and has quite literally eaten her way around the planet. She is an Emmy-nominated TV personality and has been named one of AdWeek’s 30 Most Influential People in Food.
Nilou is a permanent judge on Netflix’s much-anticipated revival of Iron Chef, premiering worldwide on June 15, 2022.
Born in Iran, raised in Paris and New York, Nilou is fluent in four languages and has traveled to more than 45 countries. She brings a genuinely global perspective to her work, informed by a love and understanding of foods from around the world.
Nilou has served as Editor-in-Chief of Food & Wine as well as Editor-in-Chief of the award-winning food site Epicurious. As the longtime Features Director for Travel + Leisure, Nilou oversaw the magazine’s coverage of restaurants, hotels, and trends in luxury travel. She is also co-founder of Further Magazine. Nilou is also the co-founder of Story Collective, a consultancy specializing in brand voice, strategy, and storytelling for the world’s top luxury hotels, restaurants, and travel destinations.
An accomplished home cook and restaurant obsessive, she lives in Brooklyn with her husband, writer Peter Jon Lindberg, and can be found wherever delicious food is being made — and on Instagram at @niloumotamed.
Marcus Samuelsson is the renowned chef behind many restaurants worldwide including Red Rooster in Harlem (NYC) and Overtown (Miami); Hav & Mar in Chelsea (NYC); Metropolis at PAC NYC; Marcus Bar & Grille in Atlanta and its Live! flagship at American Dream (NJ); and several Marcus locations including the Bahamas, Montreal, and most recently Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Samuelsson was the youngest person to ever receive a three-star review from The New York Times and recently won a 2023 Emmy Award for the Short Form Program “My Mark.” He was tasked with planning and executing the Obama Administration’s first State Dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He has won eight James Beard Foundation Awards as chef, author, and TV personality. Additionally, Samuelsson has won numerous competition shows including Top Chef Masters and Chopped All-Stars and appears regularly on those franchises as a judge. He also appeared as an Iron Chef on Netflix’s Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend.
Award-winning Chef Marcus Samuelsson opens up with Iron Chef judge Nilou Motamed about his vision as a culinary artist, his African and Scandinavian aesthetics, and his celebration of food, music, culture, and art to impact the world.