Chef Johan Svensson

Johan Svensson was born on the small island of Torsö in Sweden. As a boy, he barely passed home economics, only to pursue a culinary degree at the Culinary Institute of Gothenburg. He worked his way through several positions in the restaurant industry in his homeland as a dishwasher, waiter, and substitute chef before making his way up to executive sous chef at a ski resort in Northeast Sweden.

In 1997, Svensson contacted Marcus Samuelsson at Aquavit, asking the internationally renowned chef if he could do a three-week stage in his kitchen. Samuelsson agreed and soon, Svensson was in the Aquavit kitchen. He was inspired by his mentor’s dedication to flavor and innovative methods and returned to Sweden, eager to use the knowledge he gained.

After only a few months, Samuelsson asked Svensson to come back to the United States to join his team on a permanent basis. Svensson made a tour of several stations in the Aquavit kitchen, fortifying and finessing his skills in garde manger, grilling, pastry, and expediting. After a year, Svensson left Aquavit to work as a cook at Bond Street New York, which led to a position at Nobu of London, where he had the opportunity to build the global sensibilities of his culinary style. He returned stateside to work as a sous chef at Bond Street, and later became the opening sous chef of Thom in Manhattan.

Svensson then worked as executive sous chef at Town before reuniting with Samuelsson as the executive chef of Riingo. In 2006 Svensson was appointed executive chef of Aquavit where he yet again brought an innovative approach to Scandinavian cooking.

In 2009, Svensson was tapped as Chef de Cuisine at BLT Steak at Trump International Hotel™ Waikiki Beach Walk®. There, he artfully adds a global flavor to BLT Steak’s successful French-inflected interpretation of the classic American steakhouse. Svensson uses the island’s fresh local ingredients, which invariably turn up on the restaurant’s daily “blackboard menu.”