Celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson’s new TV show exploring immigrant cuisine in the U.S., “No Passport Required,” is set to premiere July 10 on PBS, creators announced Tuesday.
The six-part series first announced last fall follows Samuelsson as the “Chopped” judge and co-owner of popular Harlem eatery Red Rooster travels the country to showcase the diversity of immigrant cuisines and cultures. The fourth episode, airing July 31, takes the Ethiopian-born and Swedish-raised chef only a subway ride away from his Harlem home: In Richmond Hill, Queens, Samuelsson visits the local Indo-Guyanese community to try Trinidadian roti and doubles, cook a traditional Guyanese chicken curry for the springtime festival of Phagwah and play cricket. He also joins Guyanese-American DJ and music producer Jon Madray, known as JonOne, at the entertainer’s home for a traditional meal with his family.
Other episodes of the show, produced by the Vox Media site Eater, send Samuelsson to Detroit, New Orleans, Chicago, Miami and Washington, D.C., according to a final itinerary released Tuesday.
“Chasing flavors has been my lifelong passion,” Samuelsson said in a statement earlier this year. “To now be able to bring viewers on that journey with me to these amazing communities in cities across the U.S. is truly a dream come true. We get to go deep into the markets, pull up to the roadside stands and be welcomed into homes — all the places where people share and celebrate food together.”
With a focus on travel, culture and community, the James Beard Award-winning chef’s new show emulates an example set by the late Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations” and “Parts Unknown.”
While Bourdain’s adventures on the Travel Channel and CNN frequently took him abroad, Samuelsson’s lens will stay focused on the immigrant enclaves in the U.S.
The Indo-Guyanese community in Queens emigrated most recently from Guyana and the Caribbean, but its roots trace back to India. According to the New York Times, the borough is home to more than 80,000 Indo-Guyanese immigrants.
“No Passport Required” will air Tuesdays, starting July 10, from 9 to 10 p.m. on PBS. Viewers can also stream it on PBS.org and the show’s website.
