The Executive Chefs at Berns Event

Joel and Jacob are the executive chefs at Berns Event. Together with their team, they have completely transformed the kitchen. They continue to develop both the kitchen and the menus to ensure that guests receive the very best experience—whether you’re attending an event on site or having the food delivered to your own gathering. Follow along to see what they do on a day off and what the biggest challenges are when creating incredible food for 500 people to be served simultaneously.

Tell us a bit about yourselves—what do you like to do on a day off?
Jacob:
I’m very family-oriented and spend a lot of time with my family. I’m lucky to live quite close to them. Besides that, I love working out and, of course, food is one of my biggest interests. But I won’t lie—when I’m home alone, I absolutely love a frozen pizza or macaroni with minced meat.

Joel:
I’m definitely a homebody who enjoys being at home and cooking dinner with my girlfriend. Another big interest is going out to eat and discovering new places. A favorite spot I like to go to right now is Babette for good beers and pizza. If I’m hanging out with friends or family, I’m happy to visit Bâtard up on Nybrogatan.

How did you end up here?
Jacob:
I studied in Grythyttan, where I got to know Joel. A bit later, I did an internship at Berns Asiatiska. When I finished my studies, I talked to Axel (head of kitchens for Berns and Calle P) to see if there was something for me after school. There turned out to be space for both me and Joel here.

Joel:
I worked extra shifts in the kitchen at Berns Event during my internship, which I did at Menigo. Since that internship was during the daytime, I could come here and do evening shifts sometimes.

Now here we are, three years later.

How do you think when creating menus? What inspires you?
We create the menus together with our sous chef Henning, and we also have ongoing dialogue with the entire team. We’re a team of eight full-time employees. First, we look at which venue the menu is for. For example, the Ballroom involves a higher tempo and serving a lot of people, but the food still needs to be delicious. We often say it’s meat, potatoes, and sauce—but in different variations.

On Plan 1, where we have Spegelsalen and Röda Rummet, we can push things further and be more creative since it doesn’t need to be served to as many people at the same time.

One thing we always focus on is maintaining a common thread throughout all menus. Since we have several different menus for different venues, it can otherwise feel a bit scattered. That’s why the common thread is important. At the same time, it makes the work very fun and we see it as a privilege to work this way. No two days are the same, and we always want to challenge ourselves and raise the bar.

In terms of culinary inspiration, social media is a big one. We also bring a lot of knowledge from school, which gives us the opportunity to develop and challenge ourselves. We inspire each other as well—we like different things and can lean on one another. We complement each other really well. On top of that, the entire team at Berns Event is very focused on always improving and delivering the best they can, which motivates us even more.

How do you make great food for so many people at the same time—is there a decisive factor?
It all comes down to extremely good planning and solid preparation. Our process is to sit down and go through the upcoming weeks. Then we create prep lists based on that, which are a key factor. The second key is that pretty much everything should be ready when it’s time for the event—then it’s just a matter of pressing ON.

What is the biggest challenge?
During high season, the biggest challenge is finding a flow that makes colleagues feel satisfied—so they can come back to work the next day feeling motivated and well-rested. We also always strive for a good working environment: having fun at work, being attentive, and maintaining an open atmosphere. Meeting all of that can be challenging, especially during service. At that point, it’s not just our team—we often have several temporary staff, service personnel, project managers, technicians, and more.

You also do catering—if companies can’t come to you, you can come to them. Why should someone try your catering?
We take care of everything—we’re a full-service house. We handle everything from the food, of course, to décor, drinks, staff, and even furniture if needed. We also adapt to the client’s wishes so that everything can be 100% tailor-made. We have a catering menu for inspiration, but we’re more than happy to customize it based on the client’s preferences, which is actually what we enjoy most about the job.

Why should someone book an event at Berns?
We have extremely skilled staff here across the entire department, not just in the kitchen. We see the client and their needs and are accommodating to their wishes. And of course, because of the great food. We can also serve hot food to 500 people in 15 minutes, where the food both looks great and tastes great—that’s something we’re very proud of. And the venues—do we even need to say more? Wow.

Wine or beer?
Joel: Wine
Jacob: You know what—I’d rather have a Coca-Cola Zero

Nightclub or bar?
Joel: Bar
Jacob: Bar

Sharing or three-course dinner?
Joel: Sharing
Jacob: Sharing

Asian or Italian?
Joel: Italian
Jacob: Asian

Movies or series?
Joel: Movies
Jacob: Series

Gym or outdoor activities?
Joel: Gym
Jacob: Gym