I’ve never been interested in staying inside one lane. Creativity, for me, is a craft built on inspiration, knowledge, tradition & openness to new and wild ideas — and I’ve spent my career proving that the right mix of vision, obsession, and execution can turn ideas into brands, books, albums, videos and experiences that people want – and won’t forget.

You can find my clean resume here, but I urge you to read below instead! Or take a look at my interview.

Since 2015 I’ve been Creative Director and Head of Design at Vikingsun, (Actually since 2010 but as a freelance 2010 – 2014) where I’ve built and led the creative engine behind two of Scandinavia’s most successful culinary brands. Lead the entire creative team across production, design, content, and vision. With Satake, I took a Japanese knife brand from niche recognition to cultural status — driving 300% growth through design systems, packaging, campaigns, websites and storytelling that made it a household name in Scandinavia and now also Europe. With Culimat, I partner directly with Michelin-starred chef Mathias Dahlgren to design his entire product line, merging Nordic functionality with premium design. Most recently, I created a new brand with superstar TV-chef Tina Nordström, launching it into almost every major grocery retailer in Sweden — and now preparing it for Scandinavian rollout.

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WHAT ABOUT SATAKE?

As I wrote, I’m head of design for our brand Satake. The brand originates from Seki City, Japan where I still go for meetings in the factory, inspiration, knowledge, food and happiness at least once a year. The brand Satake is since many years now 100% designed by myself. To show you my process might be a bit difficult on this site, but let me give it a shot with this example:

SATAKE OMO – A knife built and designed by History.
On one of our trips to Southeast Asia, we came across a metal knife box. Rusty and broken, crooked and left for disposal. No, no… my immediate feeling was that this was a treasure found in an abandoned house or factory, and that there had to be something extremely precious inside. But there was nothing.

I had to finish the story myself. I began to imagine what the inside might have looked like. The outside was rusty and broken, but the inside was protected, flawless, and rare—perfection in every detail.

I started imagining everything: the sharpening technique, the satin fabric that cradled the knife, the Damascus blade, the weight, and of course, a way to tell this story.

The start – the journey and inspiration and the result below;

The story that I wrote, the voice over script and the final video I produced for the series below;

The story that popped into my mind from a rusty beaten up box is now one of the most high end successful knives that are sold in Scandinavia. We are still releasing new models in this series that I design, about one new model is released per year.

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What else? I recently became Sweden’s most published cookbook author, with over 30 books in print, and twice won the World Gourmand Cookbook Award – Best in the world. I’ve been releasing about two books per year since many years now. The latest releases can be found here.

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I worked as a TV chef on TV4 Nyhetsmorgon for two years, some of my recipes from TV4 can be found here, founded and ran Zäll’s Smokehouse (recognized as one of the top five American restaurants in Sweden), and wrote for Allt Om Mat, the nation’s leading food magazine. Some of the articles can be found here. I’ve had my own cooking show Överraskningen on Swedish national television, focusing on cooking together with kids. I’m also the author of the children’s trilogy Drakarnas Land (Land of the Dragons), which I both illustrated and narrated for the audiobook editions. In addition, I’ve narrated several crime novels. I narrate, produce, and edit all of these works.

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And then there’s music. As guitarist and songwriter for Eskobar, I toured Europe and Asia for over a decade, shared stages with greatness such as Sting, Roxette, and Motörhead, picked up gold records and MTV awards, and played in front of arena crowds. Perhaps you’ve come across my favorite gem from Eskobar: Someone New ft Heather Nova.

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Today, with my new band The River, I’m back to writing, recording, and performing — and still directing, producing and editing music videos like this oldie or this new thing, composing soundtracks, and producing content that blends visuals and sound into stories.

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I don’t just design products, I design identities. I don’t just build campaigns, I build cultures. Whether it’s knives, cookware, luxury packaging, cookbooks, rock albums, or restaurant brands, I’ve shown again and again that creativity — when it’s bold, disciplined, and lived — can turn passion into influence.

I’m at my best where brands need to break through. Where consistency matters as much as inspiration. Where design, storytelling, and culture intersect.

This isn’t my career — it’s who I am.

Best regards,

Frederik Zäll
Creative Director / Head of Design / Musician / Author / Team leader
+46 70 7434848
frederik@lyxlagat.se