One of the best things about having a restaurant in Bermuda for Marcus Samuelsson? Walking less than 100 feet to select the catch of the day. It’s in perfect balance with his belief that food should be sourced locally and eaten in season whenever possible. The celebrity chef returns to the Island for a second live cooking demonstration next Friday at Hamilton Princess. No surprise that local fish and Gosling’s rum will feature on the menu.

Q: Where’d you get the inspiration for your Bermuda menu?

A: It all starts from my love and passion for cooking but it’s directed by seasonal change and the audience, which changes constantly. People dining at Marcus’ come from different parts of the world and so you’ve got to stay up on it. For me I draw on my creativity to develop. It’s always an exciting part of cooking. If you go to a place you want to discover what is of the place. It doesn’t have to be food. It can be service. It can be rum or vodka. It might be a place of beef eaters or fish heads. Wherever you are you want to discover the core. In Bermuda, to me, it’s about connecting with the local community. We’ve been really welcomed by the community here, and that’s something that has stuck with me. I appreciate with fishermen that I’m able to get delivery of fish just [70 yards away from Marcus’]. They just pull up and sell their catch of the day. [The fish] is my favourite dish when I come here, as it should be on an island. In Kansas, maybe it would be BBQ. It just depends on where you are.

Q: Why’d you agree to open a restaurant here? Did you feel any pressure to be the best because of your celebrity status?

A: There are a lot of exciting things about Bermuda and I loved being part of the project with the Green family to restore an iconic hotel. One thing I really love is the whole family’s commitment. So it’s been a lot of fun. I don’t want Marcus’ to be the best on the Island, I want it to be world-class standard. And why not? Locals are travelling, tourists are coming with high demands. People come to restaurants such as Marcus’ because they want the experience. Food is the heart of that, the environment is important and beverages are superimportant as is service. For me, it’s important to have say, and direct that on all these different things. At the end of the day it’s all put against a value system — this is fantastic, or not. It’s all put into context of how we spend time out. Dining out is a part of a night out. I don’t think people go just because they’re hungry. It’s for the appreciation of great service, great beverages and great food.

Q: What’s it like working on Chopped? It frequently seems to me that the debate would be a lot more spirited in a real-life situation.

A: Most cooks on there do their best but they’re in a compromising situation. They’re working with ingredients they may have never seen before and even if they do know them, the time is limited; and then, they’re up against other great competitors. [As judges] we can see very much their work ethic and push for the contest and we want to be supportive of that. Filming takes longer than it looks. We’re there from 6am until 8pm at night.

Q: Happy with what you’ve achieved so far at Marcus’?

A: I’m very excited about the team, the effort and help of everybody. There are so many people contributing — local farmers and contractors. I know how this room looked before and how it looks today. The locals working here, in five to ten years, will set the next standards, trends in hospitality on the Island. One of the incredible things about having a great restaurant is that talents come out and set up restaurants somewhere else. At Marcus’ we have 80 staff, probably 40 nationalities. It’s an amazing achievement but still with the focus of development of the locals. The good thing with restaurants is there’s always room for improvement. We have about half the staff here that we do at [my New York restaurant, Red Rooster Harlem]. It’s a great set-up for failure but it’s also a great set-up for teamwork. Mistakes happen all the time but you learn from mistakes.

Q: You’ve said you’re inspired by local/in-season foods. How does that work creating a menu for Bermuda, where most things are imported?

A: It’s about taking that extra effort. We are constantly working with local farmers like Tom Wadson to get local and in-season product. We also work with our fishermen to get fresh and local seafood.

Q: What’s your favourite dish on the menu?

A: Right now it’s those sweet guinea chicks that Chef Leo has in our pasta of the day.

Q: Greatest influence as a chef? Ever considered being anything else?

A: My greatest influence as a chef would definitely be my family. My uncle and my grandparents have influenced my cooking and my desire to become a chef.

• Friday’s three-course cooking demonstration will take place in the HarbourView ballroom from 4pm-5.30pm Tickets are $75 and can be purchased at ptix.bm.