Marcus Samuelsson and Wife Maya Expecting Baby No. 2 — Find Out the Meaningful Name
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Marcus Samuelsson is adding to his family!
The Top Chef Family Style judge, 50, took to Instagram on Friday to reveal that he and wife Maya Haile Samuelsson are expecting their second baby together, and the name they've chosen for their little bundle of joy has a sweet and special meaning behind it.
"Maya and I are very excited to share that Zion is going to be a big brother!" the award-winning chef captioned an adorable picture of Maya, their son and himself, who are all wearing matching white tops. The couple welcomed their son in 2016.
"We will be welcoming a baby girl in the new year and naming her Grace Ethiopia," Marcus, whose native country is Ethiopia, continued. "Our fellow Ethiopians have experienced such a difficult year, so it means a lot to us to honor and celebrate our country of origin through the birth of our daughter. We are sending our joy and light to you and our community."
Since November 2020, Ethiopia has been embroiled in a civil war, which has left thousands dead, fueled famine in the region, and has displaced millions of people from their homes, per CNN.
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In September, the No Passport Required host joined the PEOPLE Every Day podcast hosted by Janine Rubenstein to talk about some of the challenges he faced as a young Black chef working in all-white kitchens.
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"One of the ... challenges when you're a Black chef coming into a space and you're very, very ambitious was finding role models," said Samuelsson. "I worked in all-white kitchens and the chefs very upfront said to me, 'You have to lower your ambition, because there is no Black chefs that owns restaurants like ours.' "
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However, the lack of diversity in the kitchens he worked in only pushed Samuelsson to further challenge the status quo and be an advocate for those under-represented in the industry.
"I didn't see a lot of women in the kitchen," Samuelsson, who co-owns Red Rooster Harlem with chef Andrew Chapman, told Rubenstein. "I made a commitment to make sure that we have 50% women in our kitchen. Everything I did not see, I can now create."
