Features
?uestlove Cooks Up New Partnership
The drummer, DJ, producer and The Roots co-founder is taking his signature food line, ?uest Loves Food, to the next level by teaming up with Michelin Star chef Graham Elliot.
“?uest Loves Food Powered By Graham Elliot” is set to debut in May. The partnership is described as “a fully immersive experience bringing food, music and ‘out-of-the-box’ artistry to the forefront of food curation and special events.”
Photo: Robert Fischer / Sol-A-Koa.com
House Of Blues, Chicago, Ill.
Elliot and ?uestlove plan to show off “?uest Loves Food Powered By Graham Elliot” at industry parties and events, in addition to food and wine festivals. Look out for edible and audible seasonal goodies created by Elliot along with signature ?uest Loves Food items such as the origami-wrapped fried chicken drumsticks dubbed “Love’s Drumsticks.”
You know Elliot from his co-star gig alongside Gordon Ramsay and Joe Bastianich on “MasterChef” as well as his appearances on “Iron Chef” and “Top Chef Masters.” In 2004 he was named one of Food & Wine magazine’s best new chefs, and in 2008 he opened his first restaurant, simply called Graham Elliot, in Chicago. He and ?uestlove met last year at Lollapalooza, where Elliot serves at the festival’s culinary director.
?uestlove launched ?uest Loves Food in 2011 after being inspired by late night food trucks on the West Coast. Love’s Drumsticks have been featured in Food & Wine and Bon Appetit.
“I did a few DJ gigs out on the West Coast, and these really great, awesome food trucks would be outside selling weird specialty things,” ?uestlove told Adweek.com in November.
“This one guy was selling his ‘world famous’ roasted corn. So at 3 in the morning, I’m watching these people kill all this Mexican corn. And I was like, ‘Man, I want a food truck.’ I imagined having a ‘Soul on a Roll’ Mister Softee truck that served good soul food.
“In a perfect world, I would like to have a line of 15 really funky food trucks that go to all the festivals, the Bonnaroos, the Coachellas. This is becoming bigger than that.”