Emma Bengtsson

Emma Bengtsson is a Swedish chef who holds two Michelin stars at the New York City-based restaurant Aquavit. She is the first female Swedish chef to win two stars.

Career Emma Bengtsson was born on August 27, 1981, in Falkenberg, Halland County in western Sweden. Bengtsson was inspired to cook by her grandmother, and went on to study at the International Restaurant School in Stockholm. She interned at Edsbacka Krog, the only restaurant at the time in Sweden to hold two Michelin stars. She discovered that she enjoyed working as a pastry chef, and after graduating she continued to work at Edsbacka Krog for four years. She then moved to restaurant Operakällaren within the Royal Swedish Opera once again as a pastry chef for the following five years.

Bengtsson was then recruited as a pastry chef by Aquavit restaurant in New York City under executive chef Marcus Jernmark. During her time there, Aquavit won a Michelin star under Jernmark, but when he left, Bengtsson was offered his position. Under Bengtsson, the restaurant gained a second star, making her the first Swedish woman to hold two Michelin stars, and only the second in the United States after Dominique Crenn. She doesn't like a macho culture in her kitchens, and instead prefers to it be a quiet place where everyone treats each other like family, no one shouts and no one swears.