Aquavit

Emma Bengtsson is the first Swedish woman to be chef in a restaurant awarded two Michelin stars and only the second woman in the US, after Dominique Crenn, to have received this accolade. She was also a Michelin Mentor Chef Award Winner in 2023.

As a girl growing up in Falkenberg, a small town on the west coast of Sweden, she imagined a career in the military, flying fighter planes. Instead, inspired by her grandmother’s home cooking, at 16 she decided to enroll in the International Restaurant School in Stockholm. An internship as a pastry chef at Edsbacka Krog—the only Swedish restaurant with two Michelin stars at the time—led to four years working there, followed by a further five years in the restaurant of the Royal Swedish Opera.

By then, the desire to move to New York City had taken hold, and in 2010 her dream came true when she was recruited by Executive Chef Marcus Jernmark as pastry chef at renowned NYC restaurant Aquavit.

When Jernmark resigned in 2014, Bengtsson was offered the position of Executive Chef. Despite her initial hesitancy, she discovered that her skills and dexterity as a pastry chef translated well to savory dishes. Aquavit was awarded two Michelin stars later that year.

Restaurant

Originally opened by Håkan Swahn in 1987, Aquavit was among the first restaurants to introduce Scandinavian flavors to New York. It was also a pioneer in dividing the space into two distinct dining areas: a café serving rustic fare alongside a contemporary dining room serving cutting-edge menus. Aquavit has since become an institution in the city, its reputation for excellent seasonal Nordic cuisine growing rapidly after the arrival of Swedish-American chef Marcus Samuelsson in 1995.

That same year, Aquavit received its first three-star review in The New York Times, a recognition repeated many times in the years since. It was indicted into the Restaurant Hall of Fame USA in 2000 and received an AAA Five Star Award in 2022-2023.

Following Bengtsson’s promotion to Executive Chef in 2014, the restaurant’s menu was revamped, while remaining true to its Scandinavian roots.

In 2005, Aquavit moved to its current premises between Park and Madison Avenues in Midtown NYC, where the restaurant took on an entirely new look.

In 2016, Bengtsson oversaw the culinary direction of a new Aquavit restaurant, in London.

Recipes and dishes

Under Bengtsson’s guidance, Aquavit is known for serving balanced menus of light Nordic cuisine with a focus on seafood, wild greens, and fresh ingredients alongside traditional Swedish techniques such as pickling and preserving.

Her philosophy is about being creative with simple ingredients while always respecting their integrity. She is renowned both for her meticulous attention to detail and for the originality and visual flair of her cooking.

Signature dishes include Fluke and Radish, Caviar and Potato, Cod and Mushroom, not forgetting her crowd-pleasing dessert Arctic Bird’s Nest.

The Michelin Guide raves about her “medallion of North Sea cod, torched ever so slightly, and accompanied by a light-textured mussel foam and petite wedges of roasted red endive.” It also mentions the “lean and tender duck breast sided by a petite block of compressed leg meat, dressed tableside with a beet sauce enriched with duck jus.” In terms of top desserts, the example cited is “green apple and fennel featuring rye cake, apple ice, bitter caramel and whipped, smoked crème fraiche.”

Bengtsson is also known for her commitment to favoring local products and sustainable practises, and for her respectful, inclusive, and collaborative approach to running a kitchen.