A Winter’s Table
Thu, Feb 1, 6 pm reception / 7 pm dinner
Mara Restaurant and Bar
Tickets: $295, now available for purchase on Tock (limited capacity)
As part of the five-month celebration of winter at Four Seasons Hotel Minneapolis, consulting chef and restaurateur Gavin Kaysen and his Mara staff will collaborate with Swedish chef and Team USA culinary director Sebastian Gibrand on a Scandinavian menu and interactive culinary experience. This outdoor and indoor experience will kick off in the Hotel’s Nordic Village and extend into Mara with Akavit, canapés, a five-course meal and optional wine pairings to follow. Chefs Kaysen, Gibrand, Martin Morelli, Thony Yang, and Eddy Dhenin will make tableside appearances to connect with guests.
In partnership with Four Seasons Hotel Minneapolis.
About the Chefs
Gavin Kaysen is an award-winning chef known for his nationally recognized group of Minneapolis restaurants, including Spoon and Stable, Demi, and Bellecour Bakery at Cooks of Crocus Hill, as well as his leadership in the culinary profession.
From his earliest hospitality jobs in Minnesota, Gavin knew he wanted to become a chef. After graduating from the New England Culinary Institute, he worked around the world: for Robert Curry at Domaine Chandon in California, Marco Pierre White at L’Escargot in England, and at Auberge de Lavaux in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he met his wife, Linda. He found a home under Daniel Boulud in New York City, working his way up to Executive Chef and Director of Culinary Operations, where he was recognized as one of Food & Wine’s “Best New Chefs” in 2007. It was in this role that he opened Café Boulud at Four Seasons Hotel Toronto, beginning the lifelong respect for and connection to a similarly values-driven hospitality brand.
Ready to raise his two children outside of New York City, Gavin and his family moved to Minneapolis in 2013, where he founded Soigné Hospitality and opened his first restaurant, Spoon and Stable. For his impact in the region, he earned the “Best Chef: Midwest” award from the James Beard Award Foundation in 2018.
Sebastian Gibrand has a well-known competition background as former team captain for the Swedish national team, for the win in the Swedish tv show “Kockarnas kamp” and for his silver medal in Bocuse d’Or 2019, the world’s most prestigious cooking competition. Today Sebastian is part of the Team USA Bocuse d’Or 2025 as the Culinary Director. A highlight in his career so far has been the honorable task of being responsible for cooking the Nobel Prize dinner in December 2019.
Today he runs his own private dining company together with his colleague Robert Sjöberg and who has a background from Sweden’s first Michelin starred “organic” certified restaurant. His cooking approach has a tight, uncompromising focus on the individual ingredient – elevating its characteristics and bringing out its natural magic, with a polished technical finish.
Executive Chef Martín Morelli joined Four Seasons Hotel Minneapolis in February 2022, bringing with him two decades of high-level culinary experience. He oversees the signature Italian restaurant and bar on the Hotel’s fourth floor pool plaza, in-room dining and all business and social events, while leading the culinary team.
Martín’s career began in his home country of Uruguay, following his graduation from the Escuela Superior de Hoteleria, Gastronomia y Turismo at the U.T., as the Commis Chef at the former Four Seasons Resort Carmelo. From 2003 to 2010, Martín dedicated his time to the resort, where he worked in such culinary roles as Commis Chef, Demi Chef de Partie, and Chef de Partie.
Originally from Montevideo, the arts and culture capital of Uruguay, Martín has always had an appreciation for avant-garde techniques while remaining loyal to his minimalist culinary roots. His innate creativity and enthusiasm for experimentation has led him through various kitchens in South, Central and North America. Martín artfully executes innovative menus showcasing the culinary vibrancy of the region.
Four Seasons Minneapolis Chef de Cuisine Thony Yang’s story starts in a small town in France. When he was 10 years old, his family moved to the Twin Cities. He worked in family restaurants until he was 21 and found he had an interest in cooking. The first member of his family to get a post-secondary education, he attended Schoolcraft College, then culinary school, where he graduated at the top of his class.
One of his first culinary roles was with Takashi Yagihashi, a renowned Chicago chef. Thony worked at his namesake Japanese-French fusion restaurant, then moved to his ramen restaurant, Slurping Turtle. Wanting to be closer to family, he started researching the Twin Cities culinary scene and found Gavin Kaysen. He set up a stage at Spoon and Stable (in which a chef spends some time working in a kitchen to see if it’s a good fit), and was hired in 2016. From there, he made his mark on all of Kaysen’s restaurants, moving to Bellecour before becoming sous chef at Demi, and eventually Chef de Cuisine at Four Seasons Minneapolis.
Four Seasons Executive Pastry Chef Eddy Dhehin’s love of cooking started as a kid in Saintes, a historic town in southwest France. He initially set out for a career in IT, but a passion for food soon took over, and he enrolled in culinary school. He found himself not only drawn to pastries, but the art of hospitality as well.
As both Executive Sous Chef and Executive Pastry Chef at several different Four Seasons hotel and resort locations — including Four Seasons Resort Anguilla and Four Seasons Resort Nevis — his edible works of art have received many accolades. He earned Best Pastry Counter in Bali, garnered a nod for 10 Best Desserts in the Asia Pacific and won the Grand Marnier Young Restauranteur competition in Paris. He also won a spot in the Four Seasons Hotel and Resort Top Chef competition, where he was one of five pastry chefs to compete on stage in Las Vegas.
Please note that photographs and video footage may be taken throughout this event. These will be used by The Great Northern and its partners for marketing and publicity, our archives, on our website and in social media.
