Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeremy Young
Hi Jeremy, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
After exploring several creative fields – music, design, fine art, woodworking – I fortuitously found cooking to be a perfectly chaotic blend of these individual disciplines. I had worked in kitchens in Los Angeles off and on since high school, but did not fall head-over-heels for the work until I was attending college in San Francisco. Perhaps this love affair was triggered by reading Anthony Bourdain’s “Kitchen Confidential” for the first time, or making my first ice cream, or experiencing a breath-taking meal at The French Laundry (a graduation gift to myself). After 15+ years in the kitchen, however, I mostly attribute my career to the fun, hilarious, hardworking, motley band of pirates that I met on the line. Kitchens were – and remain – a place where misfits are welcome to be their messy selves, provided they contribute to the central mission of excellence. It was unlike any other work environment I had experienced and I was fully hooked.
I tried to rise through the ranks of a couple really great restaurants, but I was too young, too green, too impatient. Frustrated by what I perceived at the time to be sluggish growth, a mentor suggested I investigate culinary school as a way to fast track my learning curve. Culinary School was half the price in Texas, so I left San Francisco and arrived in Austin in 2011. Before and after graduating, I worked in as many quality kitchens as would let me in the door. I satiated my interest in Japanese cuisine over 7 years with Michelin Bib Gourmand group Tatsu-Ya, and practiced my fermentation, bread baking, and hyper local/hyper seasonal fine dining cooking at Michelin Green Star restaurant Emmer & Rye. All along I was learning more about the business of restaurants and honing my leadership skills.
When Covid collapsed the industry, it was finally time to pause the 80 hour weeks and take stock. I felt I had the vision, the work ethic, and the experience to no longer be a chef for someone else’s restaurant. I had also grown frustrated with the way past workplaces had operated, and felt a deep passion for trying to build a business that was more aligned with my personal ethics. In 2020, I – along with my supportive wife and our chef friend/business partner – moved to Nashville to open Tootsie Lou’s, the first restaurant of our own. Tootsie Lou’s was a Mexico City style taqueria. We nixtamalized and hand formed our own heirloom corn tortillas, created with the seasons, and sought to highlight the beauty of Mexican cuisine through elevated techniques and fine dining flourishes. We also sought to create an equitable, non-toxic workplace where we could treat ourselves, our employees, our farmers, and our guests with dignity and respect. We had an incredibly rewarding experience participating in the Nashville restaurant community, but ultimately Tennessee was not home.
When I returned to Austin, I wanted to keep the Tootsie Lou’s momentum going, to continue to learn and grow as a chef and small business owner. Through a longtime friend, I was organically offered the opportunity to take over the legendary Burger Tex kitchen below Barfly’s on Airport Blvd. I reached for a business plan that is near and dear to my heart, one that I had been putting shape to in the background for years. Yellow Ranger opened in April 2024 and is a proud expression of my American-Chinese identity. It is a love letter to the comforting fusion of cultures, flavors, and ingredients. It is an attempt to cook my best food yet – showcasing everything I have learned and loved throughout my career – while still remaining approachable and unpretentious. Ultimately, Yellow Ranger is for the people. When they walk through our front doors, I want everyone to feel welcome and comfortable, and when they leave, I hope we made them happy and full.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Looking back over the past 15+ years in kitchens, it was never smooth, but it was always interesting. There were many pain points, but each one taught me a lesson that shaped who I am today. The mark of a good chef is in their openness to learning something new all the time.
The primary struggle overall has been with capitalism. As a creative person – one who could gleefully spend every day making music, art, food – the challenge has always been, “HOW DO I MAKE ART AND STILL SURVIVE?” In San Francisco, I would go to college, work two jobs, and still have to pawn my bicycle every other month to pay rent. While attending culinary school, I was working three jobs at one point. Making music didn’t pay the bills, nor did design work, or writing, or fine art. It wasn’t until I found cooking that I found a reliable paycheck. And after years in the kitchen – once I was promoted to chef and eventually restaurateur – I discovered that this work encompasses all of the disciplines I had loved in the past. Music? Make a playlist for the dining room that curates the right vibe. Design? T-shirts, merch, website, social media. Writing? Social media captions, blurbs on the website, blog posts, interviews like this one! Fine Art? I find artistic satisfaction in the craft of cooking, in the dish design and plating of our food. The pursuits I had once regarded as failures somehow all coalesced into a single job.
The financial struggles remain. Despite owning and operating two of my own restaurants, there is still very little money. The margins remain razor thin. Any catastrophic event – some new pandemic, a weather disaster, tariffs, you name it – could easily permanently close my restaurant. Nevertheless, we persist. The passion for and satisfaction from the work remain. Despite the many hazards and downsides of cooking professionally, I still believe in the importance of fostering community through food and in the nobility of serving others.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I contain multitudes: chef, prep cook, line cook, dishwasher, busser, server, cashier, plumber, electrician, carpenter, teacher, social media influencer, photographer, designer, marketer, accountant, therapist, and mentor.
At Yellow Ranger, we specialize in affordable, approachable bar food made with the highest possible attention to flavor, technique, and presentation. We feature high quality proteins and local seasonal farm produce. Our food highlights Chinese and Taiwanese dishes, but also American flavors, ingredients, and techniques. We delight in exploring the common ground between these two cultures and their culinary traditions. It is, of course, “fusion” cuisine, but every cuisine is fusion cuisine, so that feels unimportant to note. I prefer to think of it as an honest and organic expression of what we know and like. We’re trying to share our current passions with our guests one plate at a time.
I hope that I am known for being a good boss. I take cooking seriously, but it is never more important than the people around me. In our current restaurant industry, malpractice is rampant and ethics are always second to profit. It is increasingly difficult to pay my team well, to use sustainable ordering and cooking practices, to hold high standards for quality while remaining empathic and kind. I would rather be known for consistently doing the right thing while keeping the restaurant’s lights on than for being a great or talented chef.
I am currently most proud of my Yellow Ranger team. They work hard and execute our food and service at the highest level, yet are still so fun to work alongside. They have organically formed a tight knit bond, a language and culture all their own. They like each other. They make each other (and me) laugh. They help each other out. It feels like a tribe. I am not sure how this team formed so beautifully on its own, but I feel immense pride and wonder when I watch them cook and serve together.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My wife, Megan, deserves the ultimate credit. She has encouraged me in my darkest moments. She has weathered the mercurial chaos of the restaurant business. She has supported me financially so I can work 100+ hour weeks for months and years without taking a paycheck. She has tolerated the relentless physical, mental, and emotional demands of the restaurant. She has suffered years of me giving all of my time and energy to cooking, but has also reminded me to reserve some time for her and myself. I would not be able to do any of this without her constant and unwavering support.
The Yellow Ranger team – past and present – deserves all of the shine for the ideas, talent, and effort they have given to the restaurant. I feel grateful every day for those who have rented or given me their very best so I can pursue this silly dream.
The greater Austin community deserves credit, too. Yellow Ranger has not always been the most accessible, affordable, or approachable restaurant. I am thankful for every single dish we sell because I know that there are cheaper, easier, more convenient food options from the chain restaurants and big groups down the street. Anytime one of our neighbors chooses us – the small, independent spot – over the shiny, new places popping up all over Austin, I am overwhelmed with gratitude.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.yellowrangeratx.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yellowrangeratx/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/yellow-ranger-austin
Image Credits
Yimay Yang, Ukiyo Photography
