Congrats, Chef Alex!

Ann Arbor's own Alex Young, chef at Zingerman's Roadhouse, is a Beard Foundation 2007 nominee for best Chef in the new "Great Lakes" category. It's great to see a local name on the list, and to see Zingerman's get the recognition, but I'd be amazed if he pulls out a win as the competition is pretty fierce:

Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)
Grant Achatz, Alinea, Chicago
Carrie Nahabedian, Naha, Chicago
Bruce Sherman, North Pond, Chicago
Michael Symon, Lola, Cleveland
Alex Young, Zingerman's Roadhouse, Ann Arbor

Kitchen Chick has a great profile of Alex on her blog. The full list of Beard nominees is available here (pdf).