The James Beard winner and owner of Maty’s spoke to PEOPLE at the “World to Table” Delta SkyMiles and American Express dinner in Austin
D A Varela/TNS via ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
Valerie Chang with her James Beard Award
As a fan of The Bear, real-life chef Valerie Chang has thoughts on the world’s favorite fake chef.
“The Bear is a great watch,” she tells PEOPLE of the hit FX show. “Jeremy Allen White, I’m like he has to be a chef. Rosalía was dating a chef. The guy in the Calvin Klein ad? He’s a chef.”
That said, Chang — an award-winning Peruvian-American chef and owner of Maty’s in Miami — hopes the intensity portrayed in the show isn’t relatable to all cooks and kitchens. “It’s not true for me,” she says. “With this industry I believe we should allow for more room for mistakes to happen, and that you can have a life.”
“I think sometimes it becomes such of an identity to some chefs that they are in this pursuit of perfection and are willing to sacrifice everything and do whatever it takes,” she adds. “It’s beautiful that I can cook [well], but that should also go hand in hand with my personal life and happiness.”
Emma McIntyre/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty
The Bear costars Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Ayo Edebri
Chang got to blend the best of her personal and professional worlds at a “World to Table” dinner ahead of the Austin City Limits music festival. The night before the kick off of weekend two, which Dua Lipa, Chappell Roan, Chris Stapleton and more headlined, Chang cooked up a one-of-kind, multi-course dinner that transported attendees from Texas to her home country of Peru, if only for the night.
“I’m always happy to represent my country and Miami on everything I do. So it was a go, it was a yes as soon as I heard about it,” she says of signing on to work with Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express to curate the invite-only experience for consumer and business cardmembers and their guests.
American Express
Chef Valerie Chang at World to Table dinner
At the Lonestar Ranch in Austin, Texas on Oct. 10, guests were first greeted by a pair of charming alpacas before being shuttled to a sprawling outdoor dining area. A live Peruvian band provided the background music as cocktails and appetizers were served and attendees got to pick from an array of customized cowboy hats and accessories inspired by Austin and Peru.
As the sun set, the spotlight shined on Chang, who along with a handful of fellow Resy chefs, dished out course after course of Peruvian fare with a Texas twist.
American Express
Scallop ceviche at World to Table dinner
A menu highlight: “The scallop ceviche,” says Chang. “It’s a different way to look at ceviche. It’s covered completely with grapes, so it has a sweetness to it, but it’s also very acidic and has a burnt serrano sauce. That dish speaks to how I view Peruvian food nowadays.”
It’s a staple at Maty’s, the hit Miami restaurant she opened in 2022, named after her grandmother. There you’ll find staff shaving grapes for the go-to appetizer. “It’s going great,” she says of the new eatery that’s hosted its share of celebrity guests. “We’ve been really lucky. We’ve gotten a lot of love and a lot of support from the community, but there have been some growing pains.”
American Express
Place setting at World to Table dinner
She’s up for the challenge, given that, thanks to her father and both grandmothers, feeding people is in her DNA. “It’s a very immigrant story,” she says. “My dad was not a chef by trade, but when we came here, it’s like the only job he could find. He would always take me to the restaurant. I liked it, but I was just keeping busy, helping fry some things, garnishing some rolls, and then I went off to college.”
When she realized school wasn’t her specialty, Chang returned to the food world, first as a server. “Being in a restaurant was the only place that I felt like I had a place and a home, like I could excel at something,” she adds.
American Express
Alpacas at World to Table Dinner in Austin
Excel she sure did. In 2019, she opened Itamae in the Miami Design District with her father and brother, and started picking up numerous awards and recognitions. After stepping out on her own with Maty’s, she earned her biggest accolade yet: the 2024 James Beard Award for Best Chef: South.
“I’m not sure how it happened, but it was beautiful,” she says of the achievement. “If I knew what I know now, I would go back and really take it in.”
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.
