“Focus on the big picture,” says Valerie Chang, the chef and owner of Maty’s, a 150-seat Peruvian spot in Miami. For her, that means more than awards (like her recent James Beard nomination) and the future of her restaurant. It translates to taking care of her mental and physical well-being and implementing a new kind of hospitality that’s focused on service not servitude. 

Valerie sat down with host Kerry Diamond in Miami to talk about her career and her family’s restaurant group (which includes B-Side and her brother’s soon-to-open Peruvian-Japanese spot, Itamae Ao). Valerie also shares what she’s learned in therapy, her thoughts on being a boss, and Maty’s menu highlights, including a twist on the traditional Oxtail Saltado and, for dessert, nostalgic sweet potato butternut squash doughnuts known as Picarones.

Thank you to Kerrygold, Walmart, and Johnnie Walker for supporting our show. 

Hosted by Kerry DiamondProduced by Catherine Baker and Elizabeth VogtEdited by Jenna SadhuContent Operations Manager Londyn CrenshawThank you to Newsstand Studios at Rockefeller Center

Radio Cherry Bombe is a production of The Cherry Bombe Podcast Network. Subscribe to our newsletter and check out past episodes and transcripts here. 

Sign up for Jubilee Wine Country news and ticket sales

Walmart Celebrate Her

More on Valerie: Instagram, Maty's, ItamaeMore on Kerry: Instagram, Cherry Bombe