Marcus Samuelsson Invited to Cook at the White House

Per Politico, Marcus Samuelsson is the latest accomplished/celebrity chef to be invited to cook at the White House. Samuelsson—who is best known for the well-renowned Aquavit (and ahem, Merkato 55) and more recently, a cookbook—apparently beat out fellow star chefs Charlie Palmer, Michel Nischan, Dan Barber and Patrick O’Connell for the honor of cooking at the state dinner on November 24.

Until the Obama Administration, the importing of outside chefs was a relative rarity, but already Bobby Flay, Michael Psilakis and Maricel Presill have made cameos in the kitchen. Hubert Keller was the first guest chef at the White House; DJ Hubert cooked for the Clintons twice.
· State Dinner: WH Invites Guest Chef [Politico]