Chef Tommy Myllymäki is currently appearing twice on TV. For the third season, he is one of three jury members on Sweden's Master Chef, while also challenging himself by participating in Let's Dance. In everyday life, he runs several restaurants and can call himself a chef, restaurateur and entrepreneur.
That's where I really got my eyes opened to the profession, and I remember thinking: "If I'm going to work in this, it should be at this level.".
My first meeting with Tommy Myllymäki was when he stood at the Älvsjömässan fair and won the gold medal for Sweden in the European Championship in Bocuse d'Or, the world's most prestigious competition for chefs. The following year he took bronze in the final in Lyon. After competing four times himself (two European Championships and two World Championships), coaching Sebastian Gibrand and being the Swedish team's "President" - and thus an international judge - he concluded
in January this year in Lyon his active role in the Swedish team.
How does it feel to quit after having participated pretty much every year since 2010?
– It has been incredibly fun, very rewarding and a privilege to be part of everyone's journey. It has also given me a large international network with many friends in the industry, which I am grateful for. But it has been intense. I will certainly be there in the future and do some tastings and such, but I
I don't want to be as involved as I have been in recent years. Apart from those, what has the competition meant for your career as a chef?
– It has been a fantastic inner journey. I became maybe ten percent better as a chef, but 90 percent better as a person and entrepreneur. Because it takes so much from someone to want to run and to be enterprising in that situation.
INTERNSHIP WITH MATHIAS DAHLGREN BECAME DECISIVE
Tommy Myllymäki grew up in a home where there was a lot of cooking, and in the early 1990s cooking shows started to become popular on television. He particularly remembers watching Rickard Nilsson in Sköna söndag and finding it exciting.
– An older cousin became a chef, and then I realized that I wanted to be one too. It seemed fun. He went to the Restaurant School in Katrineholm. – but the story of Tommy Myllymäki as a chef was about to end there. If he hadn't met Mathias Dahlgren, he would probably have chosen a different path.
– I was quite tired of shoddy internships that lacked drive. After assisting at a wedding where Mathias was in charge of the food, I got the chance to intern at Bon Lloc, which was later awarded a star in the Michelin Guide.
– That’s where I really got my eye on the profession, and I remember thinking: ”If I’m going to work in this, it should be at this level”. Today he runs several well-regarded restaurants in Stockholm, one of which – Aira on Djurgården – has two stars in the Michelin Guide. In the summer of 2024, he took over two restaurants in the NK building in Stockholm: the historic Bobergs Matsal and Nordiska Kantinen. A few months later, he launched two more concepts at NKK – the salad bar Akvileja and Bistro
Toujours, which is located in Ljusgården on the entrance floor. He owns all the restaurants together
with chef Pi Le and Svenska Brasseries.
You are a trained chef and run several restaurants. Do you see yourself primarily as a chef, business manager or entrepreneur?
– I'm somewhere in between. I still work on the menus, influence the dishes and jump into the kitchen on certain days where needed. At the same time, I work on development and look at the big picture. It's probably the latter that motivates me the most today – getting all the pieces together, he says and adds:
– Our industry is a low-wage industry, and getting the deal done is a challenge. It's not always easy or obvious, and it requires a lot of dialogue with the entire team so that everyone understands what we're working for.
– Many people have a romantic image of the restaurant industry – that it's just opening a restaurant, cooking some food and serving. But in the end, it's a business in its harshest form – with extremely small margins. You're also a manager. How do you view the leadership role?
– It happens in phases. Right now I'm trying to find a different role in the organization – one where I take up less space and instead motivate the staff to take responsibility for their respective tasks. I want them to really feel that they have the mandate to make decisions, that they dare – and that it's okay to make mistakes.
– It's easy for me to step in and take over if I'm there and someone asks a question. That's why sometimes it can be better that I'm not there – then the question isn't asked, and often the decision they make is better than what I would have recommended.
– You shouldn't think that you always know best. I strongly believe that everyone in the organization needs to feel that they have a mandate. They should know what our vision is, what our priorities are and what frameworks apply. That's where I come in. Within those conditions, I want every responsible manager to be able to run their
operations independently and feel secure that we stand behind the decisions - as long as they stay within the direction we set from the beginning.
– Otherwise, everything stops with me, and we don't get any further than I can. This may sound cliché, but the older I get, the more I realize how many people there are who are significantly better than me at different things. Everyone has their own cutting-edge expertise, and as a leader it is important to see and appreciate the different strengths people have – and then try to support them in that.
MUCH MORE THAN GOOD FOOD AND DRINK TO SUCCESS
According to Tommy Myllymäki, it takes much more than just serving good food and drinks to attract guests. What matters depends on the type of restaurant you run – especially if it is a two-star restaurant like Aira.
– In addition to the food, there is another level of experience. Everything from the staff to the location is important. When it comes to interior design, for example, there are several factors that determine, such as the style you want and the budget you have. The music is also an important part of the overall experience. When they took over the restaurants at NK,
There were other factors at play – such as how the environment in the NK building was already designed and the expectations that existed from an established clientele. The challenge was to satisfy these while at the same time wanting to create something new based on their own vision.
– There are ingrained guest behaviors here that go back a long way (the restaurant has been around for over 100 years, editor's note). When we go in and shake things up, the guests are a little confused, surprised, maybe even a little angry and irritated because it's not as usual.
– When you open a brand new restaurant, there are no such challenges. Then you and the team have a clear plan for how you want it to be. But in the end, it is still the guest who decides. You start with an idea, but there are many soft factors at play and the guests are almost always involved in creating the final experience. He uses Aira as an example. When they opened, guests could choose between a tasting menu and an à la carte menu where they saw the selection for themselves. At the beginning, about 25 percent of the guests ate à la carte while the remaining 75 percent took the tasting menu.
– But it became 18 percent, then 10 and finally we were down to two to three guests per evening. We felt like we were cooking a lot of food that no one wanted to eat and that we had to throw a lot away. Then the à la carte disappeared.
– The guest was very much involved in the decision-making.
What drives you?
– You go through different phases in life and in some periods you feel it more than in others. I used to work my way through them, but now I try to enrich my life with other things than just what I work with. Among other things, I sometimes DJ. I don't go to clubs, but I choose the music. Recently I had a dinner at Soho House where I also played records.
– Sometimes doing something different than what I do on a daily basis makes me appreciate my job.
usual work more when I get back. A small change in everyday life creates dynamics and
makes something happen.
We talked earlier about the prestigious Bocuse d'Or competition, but you are also on the jury for the third season. in Sweden's Master Chef, which is a competition for amateur chefs. What do you get out of it?
– I still remember the feeling during the first season, and it lives on. The energy of the participants and their willingness to change their lives and careers to get into the industry that we ourselves work in, it is extremely noticeable. Imagine if I had even half of that passion and drive – and I still have a pretty good drive – then I would have had 18 stars at my restaurant, he says, laughs and adds:
– I get energy from their commitment. And now you're going to participate in Let's Dance. How does that feel?
– It's a challenge for me. I like music, but I have poor coordination and am completely useless at dancing. But I'm looking forward to learning and will try to become as good as I can.
– But I really start at minus two, that is, below zero. It's like being underwater and learning to swim.
– It will be fun to see what happens, says Tommy Myllymäki before setting off to pick up his son.
SALMON CARPACCIO, PASSION FRUIT, MINT, SUMAC & CORIANDER SEEDS
4 servings
The spice blend is perfumed with coriander seeds and sumac, which together with fennel and cumin make a perfect seasoning for fish – in this case, thin slices of salmon dressed with passion fruit and mint.
You need:
240 grams salmon, thinly sliced
3 ripe passion fruits, peeled
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons honey
1 pot of mint, leaves picked
salt
Spice mix:
1 teaspoon sumac
1 tsp whole cumin
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp chili flakes
salt
Do this:
- Spice mixture: Mortar all the spices into a fine spice mix.
- Place the salmon on 4 plates or a large platter.
- Mix the passion fruit pulp with olive oil and honey. Season the salmon with salt and spoon the passion fruit over the salmon.
- Sprinkle over the spice mixture, top with mint leaves and serve.
EASY DISHES IN THE COOKBOOKS
Tommy Myllymäki has published several cookbooks. What they all have in common is that the recipes are uncomplicated and contain dishes that most people can cook. The latest, Flavors: Herbs & Spices, is published by the publisher Natur & Kultur.
– It has been well received. Many people have tried the recipe, which makes me happy. It's not every cookbook that I hear that about.
TOMMY MYLLYMÄKI
Age: 46 years old
Family: 3 children
Bor Stockholm
Do: Operates the restaurants Aira, Bobergs Matsal, Akvileja, Nordiska Kantinen, Toujours.
Have done: Won Chef of the Year in 2007, took silver in Bocuse d'Or in 2011 and bronze in 2015, and gold in Bocuse d'Or Europe in 2014.
Currently with: Currently participating in Sweden's Master Chef and Let's Dance. Things you didn't know about Tommy: He is a master at flower arrangements and has been on the list of Sweden's 50 best dressed men several times.
