Five Minutes with Emma Bengtsson
Five Minutes with Emma Bengtsson
Aquavit's Executive Chef wants everyone to have access to nutritious food
Since 2014, Emma Bengtsson has helmed the kitchen at New York’s Aquavit. The restaurant opened in 1987 and has received a plethora of accolades, including a James Beard award for former chef, Marcus Samuelsson.
As the top toque at Aquavit, the restaurant has flourished, earning a three-star rating by the New York Times, a AAA Five-Star award, and a Two-Michelin Star rating since 2015. As such, Bengtsson is the first female Swedish chef to head a Two-Michelin-starred restaurant.
On Jun 14, Bengtsson will join some of New York’s finest restaurants including Butcher Bar, Cote, Ed’s Lobster Bar, Eitan Bernath, Mexology, Muddling Memories, Nami Nori, Rezdora, Ron Ben-Israel Cakes, and more for City Harvest’s Summer in the City 2023: Dive In, a benefit at the Lighthouse, Pier 61 to raise funds for City Harvest (Purchase tickets here).
Bengtsson chatted with Broken Palate about keeping Aquavit relevant, why food is a right for everyone, and her passion for dance.
Broken Palate: Aquavit is one of New York City’s most loved restaurants and has also been around for decades. What is the key to its continued success?
Emma Bengtsson: Number one is to never lose the quality of what you’re putting out there. I’m not talking about food only. It’s also the service. Make people feel like they’re coming home. That can get stagnant when you get comfortable — so don’t get comfortable. Keep pushing.
BP: You’re one of the few women chefs to run a Two-Michelin-Star restaurant. What do awards mean to you?
EB: Earning these achievements is something that every chef is extremely proud of. We work our entire careers to get to certain points. But, I don’t fall into that chef category where my life revolves around stars and accolades.
For me, it’s about producing the best food I can. I have customers who come back and appreciate what I do. I want to go to work and love what I do every single day. The awards are an amazing tap on your shoulder. It’s wonderful to get recognition for all your hard work, but it’s not my whole focus.
BP: Speaking of loving what you do — you are a Bachata dancer and have competed. How did you get into that?
EB: I got into Bachata about 20 years ago. I got to the point of always working in the kitchen and I realized I needed to take care of myself. I needed to find something that gave me energy, but I wasn’t into the gym or a full competitive sport. I first tried Hip Hop dancing and I quickly realized it wasn’t for me. I was a mess. Someone told me about Salsa dancing. I fell in love with it and became addicted. When I came to New York, I found the Bachata scene was very popular, so I fell a little away from Salsa and got into Bachata.
BP: And you’ve competed?
EM: I fell a little out of it, but there was a period of time when we traveled the world dancing. It was pretty intense. I’ve scaled it back a little bit.
BP: You’re participating in City Harvest’s Summer in the City event next week. Can you tell me why, as a chef, it’s important to participate in these events?
EM: I’ve always believed that food is a public right for everyone - especially kids. People should have access to nutritious food. Children should be able to understand where food comes from and to be able to have fresh fruit and vegetables.
When I first came to New York, I was hit with the realization of how, in a huge city, food is not always available to everyone and how many kids aren’t provided with nutritious food at all. It’s really important for younger kids to understand there’s more to food than what comes out of a fast food restaurant.
It’s not always easy working the way we do to be able to provide all the help you can, but City Harvest is a beautiful marriage for restaurants that want to do things to help the community. City Harvest bridges the gap so much.