Q & A with Aquavit's Marcus Jenmark

Aquavit Chef Marcus Jenmark says he wants to be, “the ambassador of Scandinavian food in New York.”  He’s already off to a great start.  After traveling the world showcasing Swedish ingredients and cooking techniques as part of a venture called Culinary Sweden, the former hockey player got a job as a chef for the Swedish Consulate in Manhattan. And now he’s on an even bigger stage, Aquavit, where Chef Marcus Samuelsson first broke out on the city’s culinary scene.

Since taking over as head chef this year, Chef Jenmark has reinvented Aquavit’s menu by introducing more traditional Scandinavian fare.  His cooking his classic, yet imaginative, like bone marrow-crusted lobster, Berkshire pork loin with sweet corn creme, summer succotash and poached fig in a foie gras broth.   

Single/Married/Divorced?

Married, and we’re expecting a little one any day now!

What did you want to be when you grew up?
I always wanted
to be a
hockey star. At one time, I was one of the better goalkeepers in Sweden.
I
played for our state team. I was in a position to decide on whether to
pursue
hockey more seriously, but I chose something else instead. After first
starting
in the food industry, I thought I wanted to be a cookie baker (in Sweden
we call
the profession “sugar baker,”) because I really like cookies.

What was your first job in food and what did you learn?

I started working in the food industry when I was 14, at a country club.  At that point, it was more about finding something that I could do, something where I wouldn’t be sitting still, where I could be very active. But I didn’t know if I wanted to be a cook, a sommelier, a restaurant manger, but I knew I wanted to be in the industry: I like the general attitude and the ambiance of a restaurant.

What brought you to New York from Sweden?
Through my years
at the
culinary institute I attended, I gained interest in nation branding.  I realized that you could brand a nation
through culinary experiences, and that was very intriguing to me. So a
partner
and I put together a concept called Culinary Sweden and traveled the
world
showcasing Swedish ingredients and cuisine. It ended up being pretty
successful;
we had lots of sponsors and were growing. 
Then a company hired us to do a dinner at the Swedish Consulate.
It all
turned out so well and I fell in love with New York. When we got back to Sweden,
I got
an offer to work at the Consulate and I felt like I had no good reason
to turn
it down.

Have you created any dishes for the menu that remind you of the food
you
ate growing up?
Absolutely. I
cook food that
I like to eat and all of our dishes remind me of Sweden
in some way. It’s all based
on the true story. Some of items in the Bistro, like the gravlax,
herring,
meatballs, are classic everyday Swedish dishes. Right now in the Dining
room,
we have a bone marrow crusted lobster that is an interpretation of a
garlic-gratinéed lobster. There’s something about the texture that is so
simple
yet refined. It reminds me of growing up on the west coast of Sweden.

Do you feel any pressure
working in such a high profile restaurant, where Marcus Samuelsson established himself?

More than
anything else, I
feel honored that I was offered this position. But high profile, low
profile,
it doesn’t really matter. What matters is running a business, and
running a
business at the end of an economic crisis involves a level of stress. I took over from
Johan
Svensson, not from Marcus Samuelsson. I’ve heard very good things about
Samuelsson and his tenure at Aquavit. 
But the field we are entering now is what I believe is going to
take
Aquavit into the future.

How have you changed the menu at Aquavit since taking over as head chef this past year?

Aquavit’s
menu had many global influences when I took over. Since then, I’ve tried
to focus
on a flavor profile that’s part of our regional heritage. I feel there
are so
many things to cover culinary-wise from the Northern European and
Scandinavian regions
that it’s really not necessary to go elsewhere.

There
was a lot of buzz in the media about the New
York Times demoting Aquavit to two stars. Do you want to try to get that
star
back, or do you try to ignore the critics?
We all celebrated the
two-star
review at Aquavit.  For having a new chef
with no track record in the city, we look at this as an award rather
than a
demotion.  During the past year we’ve done a lot of revamping and we’ve
gone
through a lot of changes, with even more to come.  I am certain that
we’ll
eventually get that third star back. I definitely
listen to the
critics, I think every successful chef does.

Do you consider your
cooking style more traditional or progressive?
I don’t think of
those as
opposite ideas. I’m trying to be a purist and in order to achieve that, I
think
one needs to be both progressive and traditional. I’m progressively
minded when
it comes to texture and flavor.  But I
also employ some traditional techniques that I consider just as
valuable.  I think it also depends on where you’re
looking from: in Sweden
my
cooking style might be considered more traditional, whereas in America
it
could be perceived as progressive. A fermented carrot in Korean cuisine
might
not seem progressive in Korea,
but apply that technique to American cuisine and it’s considered
innovative.

What are the three most
important tools to have in the kitchen?
High morale, a
strong staff
and a professional dialogue.

What are your favorite Fall ingredients to cook with?
Sunchokes, Porcini mushrooms, apples, hay and bread. I like to cook
with
bread.

What is your favorite dish
on Aquavit’s menu? Any dish that you’d like
to
change or even get rid of all together?

If I were
thinking of the
Bistro menu, my favorite would have to be the Venison Tartar, paired
with a
glass of horseradish aquavit.  In the Dining Room, it would be the Wild
Mushroom
and Yellow Beet Cassoulet that we just put on the menu. It’s braised
baby
yellow beets with pan-seared Porcini mushrooms in sage, served with
pickled
chanterelles, toasted almonds, pickled red pearl onions and a goat
cheese
velouté. 

I like to see
things coming
on as much as going off the menu, according to the hype of the season.  Sooner or later it’s time for every dish to
go. Food is a living product that fluctuates in quality, in accordance
to the
seasons.

Aside from Scandinavia, what other
regions
influence your cooking style?
In order to achieve
something, you
need to narrow it down. Our concept at Aquavit is one of seasonal
Scandinavian
cuisine. Scandinavian cuisine has so much to offer and New York State
has such a bounty of ingredients. To me there’s no reason to look
outside
these. I certainly get inspiration from other New York chefs when I go out to eat,
but I’m
not looking for inspiration in Italian cookbooks, for example.

What
are your goals as a chef?

Be humble in my position
and to
become the ambassador of Scandinavian food in the United States.

Aquavit
Address: 65 E 55th St bet. Park and Madison Avenues
Phone: (212) 307-7311