This Renowned Chef Is Also a Renowned Cyclist

In an industry notorious for unhealthy lifestyles, Fredrik Berselius has one. Chef and proprietor of Brooklyn’s two-Michelin-starred Aska, his calm, focused attention and powerful, lithe frame are among the first things you notice about him. You’re not talking to a character in The Bear, a Hulu restaurant drama with smoking, rivalries, turmoil, and profanity.

Berselius’ manner and approach may stem from his youth in Sweden, outside Stockholm. He was influenced by his grandfather’s love of nature. Berselius attributes his success to his mentor’s teachings on energy management, foraging, and respecting nature, which he now applies to his restaurant work, which has consistently earned him two Michelin stars since 2016. His exercises help.

Understand how by knowing what happens at Aska. Its tasting menu isn’t flashy. It invites Berselius’ worldview. See what he sees. In upstate New York or Lenox, Massachusetts, where he recently discussed his creativity and exercises on a Men’s Health-moderated Canyon Ranch panel, lichen and trout smell like fresh, earthy air. You may learn and experience everything’s unspoken background.

How does he squeeze exercises in? “I cheat.” He says cycling is labor. “Nature is part of what we do in the restaurant, so it forced me to explore,” he adds. Cycling inspires his cooking and restaurant. He occasionally stops to examine what’s growing and blossoming and how it could affect the restaurant. “I love a hard workout on the bike, but also the discovery and the closeness to nature,” adds. He sometimes walks out the door to investigate.

As a competitive athlete, Berselius performed many sports before settling on snowboarding, including freestyle, half pipe, and large jumps. He didn’t exercise as a chef for a while. After 15 hours of standing at work, his knees and back started aching, and he decided to exercise more. He claims he exercised to be strong enough for the kitchen.

Given that how you do anything is how you do everything, Chef Berselius’s cycling was no mere hobby. He returned to cycling with Brooklyn’s Big Hit squad. “Recharges me. Fuels me. Now is the moment to evaluate everything. He claims he becomes a stronger, more creative leader.