Zac Young

{{Short description|American pastry chef (born 1982)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Infobox chef | name = Zac Young | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1982}} | birth_place = Portland, Maine, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | education = {{plainlist| * Walnut Hill School * Institute of Culinary Education }} | home_town = | spouse = | style = | ratings =  | restaurants =  | prevrests =  | television = {{hlist|''Top Chef: Just Desserts''|''Unique Sweets''|''Bakers v. Fakers''|''Nailed It!''}} | awards =  | website = {{URL|www.chefzacyoung.com}} | module = }}

'''Zac Young''' (born 1982) is an American pastry chef and TV personality. He has been featured on various baking shows on Food Network and the Cooking Channel, most notably on ''Top Chef: Just Desserts'' and ''Unique Sweets''.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Varolli|first1=Regina|title=Zac Young: The Food Network's "King of All Halloween"|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/zac-young-the-food-networks-king-of-all-halloween_us_59f8cafbe4b0de896d3f2be6|access-date=April 19, 2018|work=HuffPost|date=October 31, 2017|ref=HPBio}}</ref> He also appeared as a guest judge on baking competition show ''Nailed It!'' on Netflix,<ref name="Nailed It">{{cite news|last1=Bui|first1=Andrew|title='Nailed It' Is the Food Competition Show Celebrating Terrible Home Bakers|url=https://www.tastingtable.com/culture/national/nailed-it-netflix-show|access-date=April 26, 2018|work=Tasting Table|date=February 22, 2018}}</ref> Food Network's ''Halloween Baking Championship'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/halloween-baking-championship/episodes/creepy-and-crusty-creations|title=Creepy and Crusty Creations|website=Food Network|language=en|access-date=October 26, 2019}}</ref> and Food Network's ''Chopped''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Zac Young|url=https://www.foodnetwork.com/profiles/talent/zac-young|website=Food Network|language=en|access-date=May 12, 2020}}</ref>

==Early life== Zac Young was born in Portland, Maine in 1982<ref name="outsidethebox">{{cite web |title=Alumni Spotlight: An "Outside the Box" Interview with Zac Young |url=https://www.kitetails.org/news-blog/2021/3/1/alumni-spotlight-zac-young |website=Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine |date=March 1, 2021}}</ref> to Jonathan and Susan Lebel Young. Growing up, he wanted to learn how to bake after his vegan mother never baked cookies for him.<ref name=earlylife>{{cite web|last1=Keyes|first1=Jeffrey James|title=Out on the Town: Top Chef Zac Young's New York|url=https://www.gaycities.com/outthere/6012/out-on-the-town-top-chef-zac-youngs-new-york/|website=GayCities|publisher=Q.Digital|access-date=March 30, 2018|date=October 12, 2010}}</ref> After participating in community children's theatre shows from third through eighth grade,<ref name="outsidethebox"/> Young was admitted to Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, Massachusetts.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Witko|first1=Nicole|title=Chef Zac Young on the Theatricality of Cookies|url=https://thechefsconnection.com/chef-interviews/zac-young-theatrical-cookies/|website=The Chef's Connection|access-date=April 1, 2018|date=February 25, 2015}}</ref> Young momentarily worked as a costume designer before deciding that baking was his true passion. He then moved to New York City in 2003 to enroll at the Institute of Culinary Education and graduated in 2006.<ref name=earlylife/><ref>{{cite web|title=Zac Young|url=https://www.ice.edu/profiles/alumni/pastry--baking-arts-alumni/zac-young|website=ICE|access-date=March 30, 2018|year=2006}}</ref>

==Career== Following graduation from the Institute of Culinary Education, Young first worked under Sebastien Rouxel and Richard Capizzi at Bouchon Bakery, then accepted a pastry chef position at Butter. Young trained in France with Philippe Givre at Valrhona and Philippe Parc at Michel Cluizel.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kamila |first1=Avery Yale |title=Chef from Maine will compete on reality TV show |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2010/08/04/chef-from-maine-will-compete-on-reality-tv-show_2010-08-04/ |work=Portland Press Herald |date=August 4, 2010}}</ref> In 2009, Young became executive pastry chef at Flex Mussels on the Upper East Side, where he ran a seasonal pop-up donut shop in Grand Central Station.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Heyman |first1=Marshall |title=An Ace in the Hole |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704132204576136553107550030 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=February 11, 2011}}</ref>

Young joined David Burke Group, later renamed Craveable Hospitality Group,<ref name="burkecraveable">{{cite news |last1=Hollander |first1=Sophia |title=With Fight on Broil, Restaurant Owners Go Own Ways |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/with-fight-on-broil-restaurant-owners-go-own-ways-1468371461 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=July 12, 2016}}</ref> in 2012 as an executive pastry chef. In 2015, Young and David Burke Fabrick's pastry chef, Gian Martinez, originated the PieCaken dessert.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/26/dining/forget-turducken-its-piecaken-time.html|title=Forget Turducken. It's Piecaken Time.|first=Katie|last=Rogers|newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 25, 2015}}</ref> PieCaken, originally intended to be sold by the slice in restaurants, is a layered dish of pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and spice cake held together with cinnamon buttercream and topped with apple pie filling.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Davenport |first1=Emily |title=Pastry chef Zac Young talks creating the 'PieCaken' in New York City and its surge in popularity since 2015 |url=https://www.amny.com/news/zac-young-piecaken-new-york-city/ |work=amNewYork |date=November 2, 2000}}</ref> (The ''Wall Street Journal'' described the piecaken as "a fusion of a pumpkin pie, a pecan pie and an apple upside-down cake".<ref name="burkecraveable"/>)

==Personal life== Young is openly gay.<ref name="tweet">{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/zacayoung/status/427278962793132033|title=Zac Young on Twitter: "I was tormented for being fat and gay... now I've made a career out of it. #YNAC @GroovyProjects @broadway_buzz |last=Young|first=Zac|via=Twitter|date=January 26, 2014|access-date=June 11, 2018}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=February 2024}}<ref>{{cite web |title= Exploring Coming Out with Pro Pastry Chef Zac Young |url=https://gayety.co/exploring-coming-out-with-pro-pastry-chef-zac-young |website=Gayety |date=January 1, 2020 |access-date=May 7, 2023 }}</ref>

==Filmography== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" |+ Television performances |- ! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes |- ! scope="row" | 2010 | ''Top Chef: Just Desserts'' | Self | Contestant |- ! scope="row" | 2011-2017 | ''Unique Sweets'' | Self | |- ! scope="row" | 2016-2023 | ''Beat Bobby Flay'' | Self | |- ! scope="row" | 2017-2018 | ''Bakers vs. Fakers'' | Self | Judge |- ! scope="row" | 2017-2019 | ''Chopped'' | Self | Judge |- ! scope="row" | 2017-Present | ''Halloween Baking Championship'' | Self | Judge |- |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{officialwebsite|https://www.chefzacyoung.com}} * [https://www.foodnetwork.com/profiles/talent/zac-young Food Network profile] * {{IMDb name | 4077803| Zac Young | section=bio}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Zac}} Category:1982 births Category:American gay men Category:American LGBTQ broadcasters Category:American chefs Category:American television chefs Category:Chefs from Maine Category:Food Network chefs Category:LGBTQ chefs Category:LGBTQ people from Maine Category:Living people Category:Pastry chefs Category:People from Portland, Maine Category:21st-century chefs