Alexia Orsburn of Littleton’s Market Finds a Home in Columbus
The ‘Chopped’ champion chef came to Central Ohio from New York to launch a specialty market in Upper Arlington. Alexia Orsburn, the 'Chopped' champion chef, has moved from New York to Columbus, where she has launched a specialty market in Upper Arlington. She has 20 years of experience with top New York chefs and opened Littleton's in December. The market, which is owned by the Scantland and Littleton families of Columbus, offers breakfast and lunch, with plans to add dinner this spring. Since moving to Columbus in late 2023, she has been impressed with the quality of Ohio produce and meats and lower prices. She also credits her love for the people she live in and around the country.
Published : 4 weeks ago by Katy Smith, Columbus Monthly in Lifestyle
The ‘Chopped’ champion chef came to Central Ohio from New York to launch a specialty market in Upper Arlington.
Lately, chef Alexia Orsburn's typical day is long. She walks six blocks to Littleton’s Market in Upper Arlington to deliver the 7 a.m. breakfast service and stays until about 6 p.m. After that, the workday doesn't end: “That's my admin time. So when I get home, I just work on my computer.”
Orsburn brings 20 years of experience with some of the top names in New York to Littleton's, a specialty grocery and café that opened in December in the expanded Huffman’s Market space in the Tremont Center. The market, owned by the Scantland and Littleton families of Columbus, offers breakfast and lunch, with plans to add dinner this spring. It’s also launching a bread bakery.
Since moving to Columbus in late 2023, Orsburn says her favorite thing about living here is the people. “I find them super nice. I had people randomly come in and congratulate me after the Chopped competition," she says.
Orsburn coolly dominated her competitors during an episode of the Food Network show that aired in January, clinching her win by stir-frying bison, which kept the notoriously tough meat tender. The show was shot in November 2022, before Orsburn ever imagined moving to Ohio. She was invited to help lead the startup market by Littleton's general manager Sam Harris, with whom she worked to launch chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Tin Building project in Lower Manhattan, a massive culinary market and food hall that opened in 2022.
Orsburn is a runner, and as busy as she is right now, she manages to get in about 2 miles a day, 3 or so on weekends. She’s still traveling back and forth to New York to be with her family, including her husband, who is a film director, and 5-year-old son. She also has a 20-year-old son attending the Rochester Institute of Technology. Her family is contemplating moving here, she says.
The chef has been cooking since an early age—her grandmother was a chef. Born in Mongolia, Orsburn moved to Texas at the age of 16 as an exchange student. After studying restaurant management, she went to culinary school at the French Culinary Institute (now called the Institute of Culinary Education) and lived in New York for 16 years.
One of the highlights of Orsburn’s week is on Tuesdays, when a Yoder Farms truck arrives from Amish Country. “I can get right on the truck and pick up all the good vegetables directly from him (Andy Yoder),” she says. It’s also nice that the prices for Ohio produce and meats are much lower than what Orsburn was used to in New York, she says, and the quality is high.
Coffee habit: Orsburn doesn’t drink coffee for the first 90 minutes of her day. “I just wake up, have a nice warm cup of water and get my day going.” After that, she has one cup—black—and no more. She finds this method helps avoid afternoon crashes.
Power breakfast: Yogurt, granola and a little honey on top
Special night out: Dinner at Veritas and cocktails at Citizens Trust. “It feels like an old-school New York hotel with a big lobby, and the cocktails are delicious.”
Comfort food: Spicy Korean. “I’m very impressed with the Korean cuisine in Columbus,” Orsburn says.
This story is from the April 2024 issue of Columbus Monthly.
Topics: Food & Drink