Titti Qvarnström is a Swedish chef who held a

Michelin star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

at the restaurant Bloom in the Park in

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

, making Qvarnström the first woman in the Nordic edition of the guide to win a star.

Career

Titti Qvarnström was born in Malmö, Sweden, and grew up in the city and around

Skåne Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne C ...

. As a child, she experienced the range of wild ingredients that the area had to offer. Qvarnström's step father was a biologist, who would take her out on nature expeditions. She trained as a chef in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark, and went on to work for several restaurants in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Germany. When she returned to Malmö, she took up the role of

executive chef A chef de cuisine (, French for ''head of kitchen'') or head chef is a chef that leads and manages the kitchen and chefs of a restaurant or hotel. A chef patron (feminine form ''chef patronne'') (French for ''boss chef'') or executive chef is ...

at Bloom in the Park. Initially it was difficult to attract local customers, but this changed after Qvarnström was named the Rising Star of 2010 in the ''White Guide''. In 2015, Bloom in the Park was awarded a

, making Qvarnström the first woman to win such an accolade in the Nordic edition. She said of the award, "It's absurd that it has taken so long for a woman to get a star, but we are few and even fewer who notice us. It has often happened that people asked me for the chef and could not imagine it's me. Now I do not have to explain myself anymore, this is a quality label on me as a strong brand, and a receipt that what you are doing is good." In the same year, the restaurant was named the best by Restauranggalans. On television, Qvarnström has appeared on ''Köksmästarna'' (Eng: ''

Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo on March 8, 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional chef ...

''). Qvarnström left Bloom in the Park during the autumn of 2017, saying that she wanted to open her own Malmö-based restaurant where she could have complete control.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qvarstrom, Titti Living people People from Malmö Swedish chefs Women chefs Head chefs of Michelin starred restaurants Swedish cookbook writers Swedish women food writers Year of birth missing (living people)