Meet Chef Valerie Chang. How Maty's in Midtown Miami is making waves with its modern Peruvian cuisine
MIAMI -- Maty's in Midtown Miami is making waves, and not just for its modern Peruvian cuisine. It's the brainchild of Chef Valerie Chang, a 32-year-old rising superstar in the food scene who just last month received the coveted James Beard Award for Best Chef South - she was also the only woman finalist in her category.
"How exciting is that?" asked Lisa Petrillo.
"Very exciting, happy, happy to bring it home for everybody," Valerie said.
"It was very emotional. I did not think I was going to win at all. So my speech, everything I just as I was walking down, I'm like, OK, three things. Your team, Miami Peru, your team, Miami Peru. I even forgot my dogs, you know, sashimi and Meadow."
Valerie first caught attention with Itamae, a hit Nikkei spot she ran with her brother Nando and Dad in the Design District. Her culinary journey started young - after moving to Miami at 10, she was soon cooking alongside her brother and Dad.
"Then he would take us to his catering jobs and show us how to make sushi. How would make Maki's - how to make all the things that like he could use our help to go catering so we could use money for the summer," Valerie recalled.
Maty's is named after her grandmother. Her parents' family pics are on display all over the walls.
"We wanted it to feel is that you were in your grandmother's big family room, you know, open space, family pictures everywhere, the originals, candles, dim lighting, not too much," Valerie explained. "Green is my favorite color. We wanted to bring like serenity and, and like calm vibes."
As for the food, Maty's is an homage to her homeland, and Miami with an emphasis on fresh seafood. CBS Miami's Lisa Petrillo begins her tasting with her scallop ceviche with fresh lime, cilantro and shaved grapes.
"That is insane," Lisa exclaims. I hit the lime and super fresh tender scallops. The kick is what again?"
"The kick is we have the little Serrano sauce that we put in," Valerie said.
"I mean it just takes you to another world," Lisa adds.
Next, her special Peruvian corn huancaina dish - It's choclo made with parmesan butter and then topped with fresh parmesan.
"People will like to say this it is a corn mac and cheese," Valerie notes.
"Yeah, exactly," Petrillo agrees. "It is a guilty pleasure because people can't just have one," Valerie adds.
"It is like a mac and cheese, but so elevated and so delicious and different," Petrillo said.
And finally, grilled Dorade with an aji amarillo beurre blanc and chives.
"The guests, I always try to tell them if I don't see you, I want you to know you're supposed to eat this with the skin," Valerie explains.
"I was just going say to you the skin is insanely delicious," Lisa responds. "It's, it's crunchy - all the flavor, really moist fish. I can even try to even tell you all about the ingredients or what they are. Just try the Dorade because that's crazy good."
For summer, Maty's is open from Thursday through Sunday for dinner as well as brunch on Saturday and Sunday.
For more info: www.matysmiami.com