Name: Axel Thorsteinsson
Restaurant/concept: Bouchon Bakery/ Princi/ Café Coco/ Véranda
Title: Executive Baker & Pastry Chef
QUICK FIRE
Breakfast of champions: 5 egg whites, 1 egg scrambled together (seasoning), half an avocado, Sourdough bread well toasted.
Favorite kitchen gadget: Vitamix – that beast can do anything
Most underrated ingredient: Citrus fruits. I can’t get enough of their variety, the different flavors of Calamansi, Yuzu and Bergamot. You need to have lemon, lime and salt always by your side when you are cooking or making pastries.
Favorite place to eat: I always have a temporary favorite place, I love seeing new things and experiencing different things. Enjoy seeing bold dishes on the menu that really challenge you as a professional and as a guest. I enjoy places like Ubon, Sushi Samba, Per Se
The aroma that makes you the happiest: Freshly baked breads and pastries
Desert island dish: Fruits
What fueled your passion to become a Pastry Chef?
Early on, I realized I had a lot of passion for baking and pastries and my mother is a baker, when I was 14 years old I started working in a bakery and I could not get enough. That triggered the start to my journey. I finished my baker certificate, and then moved to Denmark to become a pastry chef. I finished top of my class with a bronze medal from the Danish queen. Since I finished studying, I’ve been hungry to learn more and more and travel the world to experience different cultures.
What’s the one great thing about working in a kitchen that people would never imagine?
Different things every day, yes you have your base routine, but you are constantly striving towards perfection and improving yourself and learning something new about the profession, if you don’t have passion to work in a kitchen then you will hate every day. I always say, the day I know everything is the day I will quit.
How would you build the perfect sandwich?
Oh! In so many ways. The one that sits on top of my mind that I had as a kid. My mum used to make beautiful Turkey Club Sandwiches from leftover turkey, so when there was turkey on a holiday, everyone had as little as possible of the turkey so there would be more for sandwiches. Viennoiserie bread, Dijon mustard, mayo, turkey slices, bacon, bibb lettuce, sweet tomatoes and pickled red onion. Simple, crunchy and so delightful.
How does your personality differ inside and outside the kitchen?
Not much at all (laughs), I have my professional life and personal life separate but I’m the same character inside and outside of the kitchen.
If you specialized in a different cuisine or cooking technique what would it be?
Wow, there are so many, hard to think about. Maybe more in Savory and then leaning into French fine dining, as it’s an excellent background to have because you can build a lot on top of that base.
Which dish do you most wish you’d created and why?
Not really any, not trying to sound arrogant but I admire a lot of dishes that are created by different chefs. But you cannot look at it that way. You have to look at them and think how did their thinking lead to this dish and push yourself to create your own dish from that inspiration, that memory and that moment.
In which season (and in which country) do you most like to source local ingredients and why?
Icelandic summer, always a big grill season. The nature has so many things to offer and it’s just growing more and more. The Middle East also has a lot to offer with local dates and spices.
What do you think will be the biggest food trend of 2020? And why?
Not sure if I would be able to pinpoint any big food trends, but what I think will be big in 2020 is that people will think more about what they eat, where it comes from and how it affects everything. People will eat smarter and from that, food trends will be born.
