Although a family story is told of Nilsson cooking his first meal at the age of three, his first culinary memory is of chopping
cucumbers at his grandmother's farm. He had originally wanted to become a
marine biologist, but instead attended a culinary school in
Åre, Sweden. After he attended
oenology school, After initially ordering ingredients from around the world, the restaurant became known for using local produce. Because of the local climate over the winter, efforts are made to preserve ingredients, Nilsson said "We say goodbye to fresh ingredients on the first of October, and then we don't see them again until April." Due to the techniques and sourcing of ingredients that Nilsson uses, comparisons have been made to
René Redzepi of
Noma. In 2014, season 3 of
PBS's
The Mind of a Chef series featured chef Nilsson in episodes 9 through 16. Each episode showed a different aspect of the chef's interest in Nordic cuisine and traditions and his process in creating dishes for Fäviken. Episode 16, titled "Fäviken," gave viewers a behind-the-scenes look during a dinner service at the restaurant. In 2015, Nilsson was one of six chefs featured on the first season of Netflix's original documentary program, ''
Chef's Table''. In May 2019, Nilsson announced that he plans to stop working as of 14 December 2019 and focus on his family and his hobbies. , Sweden ==Personal life==