The fourth in our series of Mentorship conversations (presented by S.Pellegrino) takes us to Miami, Florida, and Maty's restaurant, where Nando Chang and his longtime associate Adriano Montano discuss their five-year mentor-mentee relationship.
Our fourth Mentorship panel was staged this past fall in Andrew's hometown of Miami, Florida, at the much-acclaimed Maty's, part of the Itamae family of restaurants. As chef Valerie "Val" Chang and her crew prepared dinner for a full house of line cooks from around the city, her brother and business partner Nando Chang took to the mic along with his longtime protege Adriano Montano. Their unique story--both are musicians and Adriano continues to pursue his career alongside his now five-year (and going) stint with the Itamae group. This latest installment in our six-part LIVE! national series offers much wisdom on hiring and management, and a touching (and not uncommon) story of a cook finding the kitchen almost by accident, and deciding to stay there.
(Be sure to also listen to the other episodes in this series, which are conveniently gathered in an archive on our website.)
* photo by Middle River Arts