Aleph Farms, a cellular agriculture company designing new ways to grow quality animal products, announced that Chef Marcus Samuelsson is joining the firm as an investor, culinary advisor and launch partner. Through much of his rise to fame as the celebrity chef behind 13 restaurants around the world, a New York Times best-selling author and a TV personality, Samuelsson has been using his unique background to elevate diversity in the culinary world.
As part of this designation, he will work closely with Aleph Farms particularly as it approaches commercialization of Aleph Cuts, the first cultivated steaks, providing a new take on steak.
What does Chef Marcus bring to Aleph Farms?
“Aleph Farms builds partnerships based on shared values. Like us, Chef Marcus believes in making a positive impact on our food systems with creativity, courage, and care. With his vast experience and focus on creating accessible and inclusive cuisine, Marcus’ insights and expertise are perfectly suited for developing and promoting Aleph Cuts to a wider global audience,” said Didier Toubia, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Aleph Farms.
“Additionally, Chef Marcus’ reputation for celebrating food cultures that embrace high-quality ingredients aligns with our local approach to promoting food security in ways that can deliver broad social, economic and environmental benefits,” Didier Toubia further commented.
In his role with Aleph Farms, Samuelsson will advise the firm in a culinary capacity, including product development and go-to-market strategies. He has also invested in the company. Chef Marcus will work closely with Aleph Farms as it brings Aleph Cuts to Singapore and Israel later this year and to the United States next year, upon receiving regulatory approvals.
“It’s essential that we look for new ways to feed our planet sustainably, which is why I was attracted to the mission of Aleph Farms and being part, both as a chef and as an investor, in bringing delicious, cultivated meat to the table. Right now, it’s a pioneering movement and one that I think will only grow to be more important and increasingly commonplace in our lives. What once felt futuristic – like electric cars – soon becomes familiar,” said Samuelsson.
“This is a game-changing moment in the industry to invest in the future, and I’m excited to partner with an innovative company like Aleph Farms,” Samuelsson further commented.
Why is this a heavenly match?
In his career, Marcus Samuelsson has won eight James Beard Foundation awards as a chef, author and TV personality, including for hosting No Passport Required on PBS. Samuelsson also appeared as an Iron Chef on Netflix’s hit Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend.
He is also an entrepreneur and his restaurants worldwide include Red Rooster Harlem (New York) and Red Rooster Overtown (Miami), MARCUS Montreal, Marcus B&P in Newark, Streetbird at Yankee Stadium, Marcus at Baha Mar Fish + Chop House in the Bahamas, the recently opened Hav & Mar in Chelsea (New York) and Marcus Bar and Grille in Atlanta.
Samuelsson is also co-chair of Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), which helps underserved youth, and he converted Red Rooster Harlem and Red Rooster Overtown into community kitchens during the COVID-19 pandemic in partnership with World Central Kitchen.
Aleph Farms is working with regulatory agencies as it prepares for the commercial launch of its first product under the Aleph Cuts brand, the Petit Steak, grown from non-modified cells of a premium Black Angus cow. As with all its products, there is no slaughter involved in production; instead, from a single fertilized egg, Aleph Farms can grow thousands of tons of cultivated meat, serving as part of just and inclusive transition to sustainable food systems.
It also has a “Whole Animal” approach by which it plans to produce cuts of steak and other products based on animal cells, like cultivated collagen, through new proprietary capabilities.
