Chef
Michael Young
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- Norwalk, Connecticut, United States
i. Biography
Executive Chef Michael Young of Valencia Cocina in Norwalk has built his arc around one address, moving from founder to the chef shaping its wood-fire point of view. The journey does not read as a list of stops so much as a tightening of focus: Venezuelan soul food, modern Latin cooking, and the heat of a Santa Maria grill brought into a room designed for food meant to be shared.
Beginnings
Before the executive-chef title, there was the act of founding Valencia Cocina in Norwalk. That role places Young at the start of the restaurant’s identity, not simply at the pass after someone else had set the terms. The cooking language he built there is specific: Venezuelan fusion and modern Latin wood-fire dining. It gives the restaurant a clear center of gravity without flattening it into one narrow category. From the beginning of this Norwalk chapter, the menu’s Venezuelan soul food has remained part of the story. The dishes named with it are concrete and homeward-facing: 24-hour slow roasted pernil, mojo marinade, yellow rice, and avocado salad.
The Rise
The turn in Young’s work is not a move across a string of public kitchens; it is the deepening of a place he founded. Valencia Cocina became the venue where his cooking could gather its own vocabulary, from long-cooked pork to marinades, rice, avocado, and the smoke of the grill. At the center of the craft is the Santa Maria wood-fire grill. Around it, the restaurant’s food is framed by bold flavors, quality ingredients, and a style of service built for sharing rather than solitary plates. That detail gives the cooking its momentum. Fire is not just a technique in this kitchen; it is the structure around which the menu’s modern Latin direction and Venezuelan base meet.
Today
Young now serves as Executive Chef at the Norwalk restaurant he founded. The title brings the arc to its current point: founder energy translated into daily kitchen leadership. The food remains tied to Venezuelan fusion and modern Latin wood-fire dining, with the Santa Maria grill giving the menu its heat and rhythm. Slow roasted pernil, mojo marinade, yellow rice, and avocado salad keep Venezuelan soul food visible alongside the broader shared-plate approach. For a diner arriving now, the clearest way to understand the restaurant is through that combination: a founder-chef, a wood-fire grill, and a menu that treats bold flavor and shared eating as central to the experience.
Profile updated August 2026
FAQ
Asked of Michael
What is Michael Young's current role?
As of 2026, Michael Young is Executive Chef.
What is Michael Young known for?
Venezuelan fusion / modern Latin wood-fire dining.
