Niklas Ekstedt is a Swedish chef and restaurant manager. After attending the gastronomic high school of Racklöfska in the skiing resort of Åre in central Sweden, he worked for Charlie Trotter in Chicago. Soon thereafter, at age 21, Niklas started his first restaurant, Niklas, in the harbor town of Helsingborg, Sweden. Niklas was listed the best business restaurant in Sweden by newspaper Dagens Industri in 2003 and the fifth best restaurant in Sweden by the restaurant guide White in 2005. In 2003, Niklas opened a second restaurant, Niklas i Viken, a summer restaurant located in the village of Viken, a few kilometers north of Helsingborg. Simultaneously, Niklas’ cooking show, Mat (“food” in Swedish), began airing on Sveriges Television (Swedish national television). In autumn 2008, Niklas and his staff moved to Stockholm to manage Restaurant 1900. In April 2009, the fifth season of his cooking show began airing. Since then Niklas’ television career has continued with several shows, including a cooking show aimed at a children audience. In 2011, Niklas opened his second restaurant in Stockholm, simply named Ekstedt. Here, the concept is to first and foremost cook all raw ingredients over an open fire. Niklas furthermore completed short internships at several three-star Michelin restaurants, including elBulli in Spain and The Fat Duck in England.