New chef at vår gård

As a newly graduated chef at Stockholm's Restaurant School, Magnus already had experience after working in parallel during his education at various restaurants in the city, such as Ulla Vinblad. His first trial job ended up at the prestigious Ulriksdals Värdshus.




- Immediately after school, I got a job during the Christmas season and was given responsibility for the herring station. I must have done a good job because I was hired. This is where my foundation for the culinary profession was laid and I stayed at Ulriksdals Värdshus for many years

Before Magnus started at Vår Gård , he had worked at several well-known restaurants and hotels, such as The Flying Elk, Scandic Central and Clarion, since his time at Ulriksdals Värdshus. When the pandemic hit, everything came to a halt and many were laid off due to a lack of work.
- Almost the entire kitchen at Clarion had to leave when there were no guests. It was a tough time in the industry and I took a job as a chef at Statmissionen, where I cooked for people living in homelessness. I enjoyed it very much and stayed longer than I originally planned.

When the restrictions were lifted, the demand for staff increased again and at Vår Gård , which is in an expansion phase with plans to build a third restaurant, reinforcements were needed. Liam Ginnane, food & beverage manager at Vår Gård had his sights set on Magnus.
- When Liam contacted me and told me about the position, I became interested and after a visit to the hotel it felt just right. It was like a good mix of what I had done before, the combination of the historically traditional at Ulriksdals Värdshus and the modern hotel world. I got started on it.

As a chef, Magnus has a clear home and passion for cooking, sustainability and food experience.
- I have worked with many different styles, but I stand firmly in the Swedish-French cuisine. That is my foundation where I feel at home. I am passionate about working with good ingredients and products. Very Swedish and locally grown, but food is so much more than just food. It is meetings. The best thing I know is to go out into a dining room and hear the murmur of the guests. Feel the pulse. Food brings people together.

He also shares another more private passion that is currently on hold.
- When the stove is not taking up all my time, I prefer to spend time with my family, meet friends and visit good restaurants of course. I am a big sports fan and am passionate about AIK Football Club and I love to play golf. As a new father of three, however, there is not much free time left, so the golf clubs have to be put on the shelf for a while.

Vård Gård is growing in both its hotel and restaurant concepts and as the new head chef he will be a big part of that development. When it comes to what new plans and changes he wants to introduce, Magnus is taking it easy.
- Right now I am in the learning-getting-to-know-you stage. It is so easy to rush into something too quickly and make changes that you think are good, but first I have to get a feel for the place and get to know my colleagues. There are already big changes ahead in the opening of the new restaurant in Villa Skärtofta . Making it a living dining room is a big ambition. It will be really exciting to develop the restaurant concept with the whole team. It is a bit early to tell which direction it will go. We have a beautiful old turn-of-the-century house that carries a lot of history and tradition, so we can't just do whatever we want in terms of food. It's in the walls and we want to preserve that. Great respect and care are required. Think classic, but with a twist of course. Vår Gård

also in the works and perhaps Magnus will be responsible for more than just the herring station this time.