neighborhoods, then cooking them in the kitchen, and finally enjoy the labor with friends and relatives. Chef Weibull started helping his parents with the cooking; soon he was making dinner for the family so his mother could take an occasional break. It began with simple things like roasted chicken and pasta. Eventually, he wanted to offer more variety, so he learned
“military”—French brigade tradition. It was an environment where one was not allowed to question the leaders. Here, tall chef toques and crisp white coats were mandatory, even for those doing the menial job of peeling vegetables and potatoes. “I laugh at it now, but for the first year, that’s all I did,” he says. When he returned to the United States, he found
a more organic approach. The collaboration and problem-solving were done as a crew and as one team. Creativity is the key to success, and he cultivates it in his own kitchen. He always pushes his sous chefs and line cooks to experiment and find their culinary styles. When creating a dish, Chef Weibull starts with the product first, then he considers the season and the appearance. He uses colors within the products to express his intentions. In the case of spring, his favorite time of year, they often look vibrant and light. Meanwhile, they take on a more earthy and rustic style during the fall season.
dishes from PBS TV chefs like Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, and Martin Yan. Despite seeing how food brought families and people together firsthand and remembering that great feeling, it never occurred to him that he would be a chef. His original dream was to become an architect. It was not until they moved to Stockholm, Sweden that he would pursue a different career path. “My school counselor asked one simple question, ‘What is it that you would like to do?’” he says. “And cooking came to mind.” So he set off for culinary school,
where he realized it was something he could enjoy for the rest of his life and that it was something he could do anywhere in the world. After graduating from culinary school, he started working in Swedish kitchens that followed the strict—one may even say
More specifically, he likes to work with green and white, which can come from many sources. For example, “a bright green dill oil in a silky beurre blanc sauce always looks sexy to me,” he says. The team tries to let the products speak for
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