Marcus Samuelsson: The man behind C-House has a lot on his plate, but he still likes to peel carrots.

Chef Marcus Samuelsson does it all. He cooks, he writes, he teaches, he paints. And he still finds time for soccer on Sundays. Dividing most of his time between New York and Sweden, Samuelsson recently paid a visit to his Chicago restaurant, C-House, where I had the opportunity to catch up with him over a cup of coffee.

Just in town long enough to host a wine dinner with Brian Duncan of Bin 36 and a signing of his 2006 book, The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa, Samuelsson didn't seem jet-lagged at all. He wanted to reintroduce the James Beard Award-winning book (for Best International Cookbook) because he thinks African cooking should be more approachable. He says that not enough people are familiar with African cuisine and seeks to change that. He refers to the text's accessibility in terms of conversation. "It's what you and I are doing right now," he explains, "We're creating this dialogue."

C-House and Samuelsson are just as approachable as the recipes in the book. "I want people to feel comfortable coming here in their jeans and still be able to enjoy a good meal," he says. It doesn't take more than a quick glance around the room to see that everyone here does indeed fit that description. The crowd includes everyone from denim-and-t-shirt types to young professionals sporting the expected attire. Whether they're curled up in the restaurant's sleek, cushioned banquettes or parked with the morning paper at C-House's communal table, the space's understated interior provides a perfect backdrop for each guest.

Before opening C-House, his first Chicago—and first American—venture, Samuelsson sampled a wide variety of the city's culinary offerings. It was chefs like Charlie Trotter, Takashi Yagihashi and Rick Bayless, combined with authentic ethnic spots (like Uptown's smattering of Ethiopian joints) that served as fuel for C-House. But Samuelsson's greatest culinary influence goes back to his grandmother's Scandinavian roots. "She made everything from scratch," he says with a smile, "even her own liquor." He went on to explain that, in Sweden, his grandmother's dishes were quite literally referred to as "poor man's cooking." Peasant food, however, is far from what you get at C-House. Even the simple dishes here arrive looking like a page pulled from Gourmet magazine, which, incidentally, recently featured Samuelsson.

The lauded chef has also appeared in other national publications like USA Today, Food & Wine and Bon Appetit and at 37, is the youngest to ever receive two three-star reviews from the New York Times. Flattering and extensive as his resume may be, those successes don't add up to Samuelsson's biggest achievement, which he says is continuing to be able to work, especially in the midst of a stressed economy. When he first left for New York to apprentice at Aquavit in 1991, he had little more than $300 in his pocket.

But passion, skill and an eye for aesthetics quickly turned that $300 into a priceless experience. With three restaurants, three cookbooks, a line of cooking tools and a television show under his toque, Samuelsson is still as humble as his grandmother's Scandinavian recipes. "I love cooking. I even like peeling carrots," he says and explains that there's a certain joy envisioning the end result as a beautiful carrot soup.

Samuelsson's attention to detail from start to finish might have something to do with his affinity for painting. "It makes you think about positive and negative space," he says, as he reaches over for my notepad and pen. He begins to draw a diagram. Something similar to a brainstorming session—an outline that brought me back to my old writing classes with charts of plots, themes and motifs. But, unlike the ever-changing subjects in my own scratchpad, the main element of Samuelsson's diagram always begins with flavor. From there he extends three separate branches: one for texture, another for the season and then one more for fish/seafood. The flavor tree then expands to a myriad of subtopics, all working together to form one plated masterpiece.

When he's not busy crafting new dishes, instructing courses all over the world and revising recipes, Samuelsson hikes it to the local soccer field, where he says the energy and adrenaline of the game is similar to that rush you get in the kitchen. "The pulse of being on a team is similar to the pulse in the kitchen. It's an energy that's hard to translate."

This article was first published on Centerstage.

Chicago's culinary queens: The city's top female chefs redefine a woman's place in the kitchen.

Charlie Trotter, Rick Bayless, Art Smith, Grant Achatz—the names of Chicago's most lauded chefs are instantly recognizable, and also noticeably masculine. But as Stephanie Izard's win on last season's "Top Chef" showed, our kitchens are full of talented women, too. Before cheering on another Chicago girl—Between Boutique Cafe and Lounge's Radhika Desai—this season, we interviewed some of the city's best female chefs (and one mixologist) to get an idea of what it's like to compete with the big boys.

Judy Contino, Bittersweet
Self-taught pastry chef Judy Contino never worked in a bakery before opening her own. Sixteen years later, Contino says she receives many compliments from guests, telling her that Bittersweet is just as pristine as it was in the beginning. She's got her strong work ethic and mostly female staff to thank for that. The dessert diva says she thinks that more women choose pastry over other culinary disciplines because it allows so much room for creativity. In Contino's case, however, pastry chose her. Before opening Bittersweet, she spent time at Ambria, where she wanted to start cooking, but says that she couldn't because during that time, "they kept the girls in pastry." She may not have mastered the hot line, but Contino has set Chicago's standard for pastry with Bittersweet.

Carol Wallack, sola
Carol Wallack has never had a problem competing against men in the kitchen; she comes from the male-dominated surfing world, after all. But she did initially have reservations about opening Sola. "I never wanted to own a restaurant," says the chef, who moved here from the West Coast to be closer to her family. But after running Lakeview's Deleece with her sister, Lynne, for several years, Wallack decided it was time to strike out on her own. So she took her self-taught, Hawaiian-tinged talents to North Center, where she continues to cook with seasonal and local products. Currently, Wallack has two other women in the kitchen with her; an assistant sous chef and a line cook. She believes that it's especially important in a male-dominated industry to create opportunities for women, but says that the real key to culinary success is "putting your nose to the grindstone."

Mindy Segal, Hot Chocolate
Hot Chocolate Chef and Owner Mindy Segal draws inspiration from the seasons, which explains why she hasn't been afraid to make changes to her concept. "Hot Chocolate is no longer a dessert-focused restaurant," says Segal, who oversees both the sweet and savory sides of the menu. Her priorities are still centered on matching decadent desserts with Hot Chocolate's main fare, but she's also taken an interest in other pairings, like beer and cheese. Segal always had aspirations of opening her own place and says that she was fortunate to have three notable chefs (Erwin Drechsler, Charlie Trotter and Michael Kornick) support her through the endeavor. She says that getting noticed in the culinary world has nothing to do with being male or female: "If you're good at what you do, it doesn't matter—the proof is in the pudding."

Carrie Nahabedian, Naha
Chef Carrie Nahabedian makes it clear that strong ties in the family lead to even stronger influences in the kitchen. Next to owning a business that she loves, the 2008 James Beard Award-winning chef (best chef in the Great Lakes region) says that sharing Naha with her cousin Michael trumps all of her other accomplishments. "The traveling and the awards, they're great— but they're just benefits," says Nahabedian. "We get to employ great people who are like-minded and share our same strong family value," she adds. Two of those great people are Nahabedian's sisters, who handle Naha's finances and business. It's those strong family ties and loyal patrons (many of whom she greets by name) that keep Nahabedian at Chicago's culinary forefront.

Bridget Albert, Southern Wine and Spirits
Southern Wine and Spirits Master Mixologist Bridget Albert comes from a long line of cocktail slingin' dames. Thanks to their imbibing influences, Albert has been a driving force in reviving Chicago's haute cocktail couture. "Once I jumped behind the bar (14 years ago) I never left," she says. Albert began studying all of the classics and still continues to study weekly, "If you don't think there's anything left to learn, it's time to get out of your profession." Countless hours of studying finally paid off in 2005 when Albert was chosen as the first female from the states ever to compete in the Bacardi Martini Grand Prix, where she took second place. Albert says that she tries to make being a woman in a male-dominated profession a non-issue. "If you love what you do and you push yourself, you can strive in any industry—male or female."

This article was first published in the Chicago Sun-Times. Photo: Bittersweet Chef/Owner Judy Contino, courtesy of Clifton Henry for Centerstage.