Turns out you don’t have to grow up with a golden palate, a gourmet family, or even the desire to be a great cook as a teenager if you want become a future Michelin-starred chef.

Or at least that’s how it worked for Donald Young, owner of Duck Sel, one of Chicago’s best restaurants which just happens to be run out of a private apartment in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood.

I like Young’s story because we now see 10-year-olds being forced to specialize by training year round in a single sport in the hopes of going pro. Society often has expectations that every kid graduating high school has a ten year plan for their self-realization as adults.

The reality is as a forty-something, I am still figuring my life’s path out

It is rare that any of us know what we’re really destined for at any particular time in our life. Even if you do know, for most people that understanding and the work to support that dream doesn’t always come when you’re born.

As a teenager young preferred plain hamburgers ordering them instead of the Bloomin’ Onion (he didn’t like onions) at Outback Steakhouse. He got a job working at Culver’s and also a top Chicago kitchen, Les Nomades, but he got burnt out and walked away from the kitchen for a minute. As a young adult while Young navigated his early culinary career, he made some poor decisions that led to some run ins with the law and sleeping on a friend’s couch.

Eventually he doubled down on his passion, found his direction, and received his first star at Temporis in 2019. His current project Duck Sel is not a traditional brick and mortar restaurant. With a 2 to 1 guest to staff ratio, excellent food and servers with great wine knowledge, there are no compromises. The food and quality is absolutely top-notch.

One of my favorite dishes from Young, King Ora salmon with a variety of refined garnishes including carrot pudding, avocado & chimichurri emulsion, charred eggplant puree, and kishmish (Afghanistani raisins) could easily slip in to a tasting menu at Oriole or Ever.

By that I mean Young is as technically and creatively brilliant as Chicago’s top chefs, and he’s doing this in a home kitchen. He does have his own definitive style which feels like a mix of French traditional, molecular gastronomy, and beautiful naturalism

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