Alex Young

Coming Up

Scratch cooking sits at the center of the work at Cafe Origins Birmingham, where the food is built for immediate service but shaped by years in kitchens, cities, and different culinary traditions. The plates carry the kind of direct, American register that values memory and method in equal measure. Alex Young works in that lane, and the results read as made on the line rather than assembled for effect.

Where They Are Now

At Cafe Origins Birmingham, Michigan, the concept is organized around foods drawn from a lifetime of work around the world. The aim is not nostalgia for its own sake, but the kind of sensory recall that comes from aroma, texture, and first taste; the name Cafe Origins points back to where the foods come from and where the people come from that bring them. Young says, "I came up with the name Cafe Origins really to honor where the foods come from and where the people come from that bring the foods." That same approach carries through the kitchen's day-to-day pace. "I make everything that we make from scratch" is the standard he gives the room, and it signals the priorities plainly: repetition, care, and control over the basics. In Alex Young's hands, American food stays direct, but it is built with enough range and discipline to hold the imprint of a working life spent moving across kitchens and regions.

Career - chef — Cafe Origins Birmingham, Michigan - busboy, then cook — Central Falls Restaurant, Soho, New York City - assistant kitchen manager — China Grill, New York City - executive sous chef — Doral Court Hotel - executive chef — Ann Arbor Hilton, Ann Arbor, Michigan (from 1990) - first corporate chef — Hilton Restaurant Group - founder, chef, and managing partner — Zingerman’s Roadhouse, Ann Arbor, Michigan (from 2003) - owner — The Standard Bistro & Larder, Ann Arbor, Michigan (from 2018)

Signature

Alex Young focuses on American food.

In Their Words “I came up with the name Cafe Origins really to honor where the foods come from and where the people come from that bring the foods.” “By the age of 11 (1976), it was clear that pleasing people with food made me happy.”

Honors

Alex's honors include James Beard Foundation Award, Best Chefs in America.

FAQ Where did Alex Young work before? Alex Young's earlier career included Central Falls Restaurant, China Grill, and Doral Court Hotel. What recognition has Alex Young received? James Beard Foundation Award, Best Chefs in America.