BuzzFeed has tapped chef and restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson to become its first-ever executive chef-in-residence and spearhead its inaugural Tasty Talent Program.
The multiyear deal will see the chef lead a new group of culinary professionals who will develop and star in series under the Tasty brand. The group will include eight chefs form a wide range of backgrounds, who will work to expand Tasty into new formats that will premiere on Facebook Watch and YouTube.
“The Tasty Talent Program marks a crucial next step in the evolution of the brand,” says Ashley McCollum, general manager, Tasty. “In today’s competitive media landscape, a lasting digital brand needs four key elements to realize its full potential: scale, brand recognition, and effectiveness and talent. After turning an innovative video recipe format into a global food brand, Tasty is expanding further into episodic shows with an exciting group of chefs who will bring diverse, fresh and often underrepresented points of view to the food world.”
“Marcus is a phenomenal talent driven by his passion for food and curiosity about the world. He’s worked with Tasty since day one, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have Marcus as the leading face of this brand,” McCollum adds.
Other Tasty chefs include:
Harlem chef and restaurateur JJ Johnson, whose restaurant FIELDTRIP will open this fall;
Claudette Zepeda-Wilkins, executive chef/partner, San Diego’s El Jardin and alum, "Top Chef" and "Top Chef Mexico."
Kanchan Koya, a mother and Harvard biomedical sciences PhD who explores the science of spice through her platform Spice Spice Baby;
and growing chefs from the Tasty team, including Alix Traeger, Alexis deBoschnek, Rie McClenny and Vaughn Vreeland.