Emma Bengtsson's New York

The two-Michelin-starred Aquavit in New York is famed for its Nordic flavours, brought to Manhattan by Swedish chef Emma Bengtsson. Here, she explains why the Big Apple will now always be home.

Words by Alex Mead.

This article was taken from the Christmas 2025 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe today, click here.

Falkenberg, on the west coast of Sweden, doesn’t have many big claims to fame. It was named after a fort built by a Danish king in the 13th century, its people once had a penchant for falconry and its table tennis team have won ten national championships. But above all, it can be proud of giving us Emma Bengtsson.

A chef of exceptional talent, Emma cut her teeth in what was then the best kitchen in Sweden, Edsbacka Krog, making her name as master of all things sweet, before a culinary tutor connected her with Marcus Jernmark, who took her to New York’s Aquavit in 2010. The restaurant was to receive its first star in 2013.

‘I ran pastry there for four years,’ explains Emma, picking up the story. ‘Then the head chef who’d brought me over went back to Sweden and the owner asked me to take over. I said no, so he promised to lookfor another chef while I took temporary charge. But he never looked – he was just waiting for me to find my groove.’

She didn’t take long. ‘I took over around Easter, then Michelin called in October that year and gave me two stars.’

Although it’s over a decade since the chef was worried about holding on to the star, let alone adding another one to the wall, she’s never forgotten those days. ‘It’s been a rollercoaster; it feels like yesterday,’ she says. ‘The pressure was there just because I didn’t want to be remembered as the chef who took over a restaurant and lost a star. During those six months, I worked extremely hard putting my stamp on it, changing and creating a new vision of what I wanted a kitchen to be, so when I found out [about the two stars] I was just extremely relieved for a minute. Then I realised how much more work I had to do.

‘Being a chef who never strived towards stars doesn’t mean I’m not incredibly humbled, joyful and happy to have the recognition as proof of our dedication, of the team working with me. I feel extremely grateful to have two stars; I’m very proud.’

Inspiration came from her grandmother’s cooking – her chocolate cake recipe is on the Aquavit menu even today – but food was still a second career choice. ‘It’s true, I wanted to be a pilot, to go into the military,’ she says. ‘I loved all things fast; I’ve slowed down a lot now, but I was a bit of a daredevil, in andout of hospital with variousinjuries. It might sound stupid,but I was obsessed with Superman,’ she adds, delving further into her childhood. ‘I lived in that costume whenI was a kid; I think it was because I could hide behind that mask. I never fitted in during the school years. I was the odd kid – I always spoke my mind, I didn’t play with others, I was very much the tomboy, in the mud, climbing, and I was too much for a lot ofpeople. But a potential life inthe military remained out of reach. ‘You have to be 18 to go into the military,’ she explains, ‘and when I was 16 the culinary world drew me in.’

Working in the kitchens fitted her personality well since she ‘couldn’t sit still’ at school, and it also meant she could work abroad. The move to New York wasn’t exactly planned, but it was a happy coincidence. ‘This was my time; I wanted to take on the role,’ she says of the Aquavit job offer. ‘I really wanted to move to New York – I felt like it was destiny.’

While her first New York apartment was ‘shockingly’ bad, the lifestyle suited her. ‘I still say this today: you can do whatever you want, when you want, in New York. If you want to go out and have an amazing meal at 2am in the morning, you can, and I wanted to do whatever I wanted on my time off. There’s always something open, and when you’re a chef on different hours that means a lot. In Sweden, when you finish at 11pm, there’s nothing open.’

The apartment was in Midtown, a ten-minute walk from the restaurant. ‘It was fantastic for me and the people were very freeing,’ she says.

And the Superman-obsessed ‘kid’ also found somewhere she could fit in. ‘The people in New York are very proud to be New Yorkers; they’re all very odd, and that’s one of the reasons I fitted in,’ she believes. ‘You can’t do anything crazy here, because there’s always someone more crazy than you, so it’s easier to blend in.’

When she progressed from pastry to running the kitchen at Aquavit, she brought with it her Swedish techniques: curing, smoking, pickling, ‘all the classic ways of cooking Nordic cuisine,’ she says.

‘I’ve always had this passion for highlighting ingredients, to let them show themselves, to cook as local and sustainably as possible and I want food to be understood. I still cook with the same philosophy I had ten years ago. I want the food to be yummy, for people to remember it, and for it not to be too complicated. I say this knowing I might have a dish with 40 ingredients on a plate, but in my mind, it’s still very uncomplicated food.’

While the dining room of Aquafit is perhaps more subtly influenced by her Swedish roots, the bar is more blatant.

‘We do more traditional dishes in the bar room. You can sit there and have meatball and mash potato, gravlax, herring – classic Swedish cuisine.’ The ties to her homeland are clearly strong, but they’re not made of elastic: New York is definitely home. ‘New York has this energy field, by which I mean it gives you energy, but it also drains it out of you.

Sometimes it’s like you’re stuck in this tornado – you don’thave enough energy to leave, but you also get so much energy from staying. When you live here you love it or hate it; most people in New York who come from another country get out if they don’t like it, but the rest of us love it.

‘You go out and eat,’ she says of her favourite pastime. ‘You get cuisines from all over the world and the level and quality of food is incredible.’

She lives in Harlem, close to Central Park. ‘I like the vibe there and I spend a lot of time in the north part of Central Park; a lot of tourists don’t venture up there but it’s a little more like a forest. You kind of get lost in it and see nature a little bit more.

‘I love to go to the farmers’ market at Union Square early in the morning before the crowds,’ she continues. ‘Get there at 7am and it’s a different experience. You get a lot of chefs around there at that time – you could run into celeb chefs walking around trying to be incognito – it’s more of a farmers-meet-chefs vibe before the rest of New Yorkers arrive.’

Other favourite things to do? ‘Ride a bike along the west side of Manhattan, all the way from Harlem to theSouth Street Seaport. It’s beautiful and there are now so many places where you can stop for some refreshments or a snack. And I love to take the boat to upstate New York, especially in the fall,’ adds Bengtsson. ‘The foliage is absolutely stunning at that time of year. I’ll pack some food and drinks with me and can just spend a whole day enjoying the view and relaxing.’

Emma’s love for New York is clear. ‘It hits me when I’m walking late at night, or early in the morning when it’s quiet.

You see all the lights, you’re travelling up the FDR Drive, you see the bridge, Queens, everything… That’s when I think, “Wow. People see this on TV, but this is my home.”’

EMMA BENGTSSON'S HOTSPOTS

LA TÊTE D’OR BY DANIEL

Daniel Boulud’s steakhouse has a warm feeling, great food and top-notch hospitality. latetedorbydaniel.com

MADE HOTEL NOMAD

Close to everything, especially Koreatown with its late-night food and karaoke, this cosy hotel feels like a home away from home. madehotels.com

REZDÔRA

The spot for great pasta by chef Stefano Secchi – my go-to for Italian cuisine in NYC. rezdora.nyc

COTE KOREAN STEAKHOUSE

This steakhouse with a Michelin star has amazing cuts and Korean flavours. cotekoreansteakhouse.com

WAYAN

This restaurant by Cédric Vongerichten – Indonesian with a twist of French – is a must if you’re in the Lower East Side. wayan-restaurants.com

QUIQUE CRUDO BY CHEF COSME AGUILAR

A stunning little Mexican seafood place where I always go for the best raw seafood with a little spicy twist. The drinks are really good too. quiquecrudonyc.com

THE GREENWICH HOTEL

The cutest of hotels with an amazing restaurant, Locanda Verde. The spa is stunning too. thegreenwichhotel.com

URBAN COWBOY, CATSKILLS

If you have a couple of extra days, head upstate to the Catskills for a break from the noise of the city in this fun, beautiful boutique hotel. urbancowboy.com