Today on our episode #381 of All in the Industry®, Shari Bayer's guest is Valerie Chang Cumpa, an award-winning Miami-based chef who along with her family, including her brother Nando, opened Itamae in the Miami Design District, focusing on Nikkei cuisine; and in 2019, the team opened a fast casual off-shoot concept, B-Side, inside popular Asian Food Hall, 1-800-LUCKY. Her latest restaurant is Maty’s in Miami’s Midtown neighborhood, which has a modern take on comida criolla, the traditional Peruvian food of Valerie’s upbringing. Valerie, or Val, quickly garnered praise as one of the city's top young chefs, earning an Eater Young Gun nomination (2018), two James Beard semifinalist nominations for Rising Star Chef (2019, 2020) and nominations for Best Chef South (2022, 2023). And the accolades have continued, including Itamae on The New York Times' coveted Restaurant List in 2021, and as a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2022; Maty's on Bon Appetit's 24 Best New Restaurants in 2023, and The New York Times' Restaurant List; Val and Nando were the first siblings to be named together to Food & Wine Magazine's Best New Chefs Class of 2023. And Val was nominated as a 2024 James Beard Awards semifinalist for Maty’s in the Best Chef: South category. Val participated in SOBEWFF 2024 (South Beach Wine & Food Festival) presented by Capital One, which took place February 22-25, 2024 in Miami, Fl., hosting a wonderful collaboration dinner at Maty's with Chabela Coss and Ana Castro, which Shari attended.
Today's show also features Shari's PR tip to be able to work individually, as well as together with others; Industry News on Michelin adding 8 new Miami restaurants to its guide; and Shari's Solo Dining experience at Mike Puma's new Gotham Burger Social Club, as well as a visit to Hamburger America, both in NYC, in anticipation of Shari's evening at SOBEWFF's popular Burger Bash presented by Schweid & Sons, hosted by Rachael Ray.
** Check out Shari's new book, Chefwise: Life Lessons from Leading Chefs Around the World (Phaidon, Spring 2023), available wherever books are sold! #chefwisebook**
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