Maty's Valerie Chang wins James Beard award

Miami is a food town — and now we have yet another award to prove it.

Driving the news: Valerie Chang of Maty's, a Midtown favorite serving Peruvian dishes, won the Best Chef: South category at the 33rd annual James Beard Awards.

• Jesus Brazon and Manuel Brazon of Caracas Bakery fell short in their category for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker.

The big picture: The awards — the Oscars for the culinary world and held in Chicago last night — honors chefs, bakers, restaurants, bars and restauranteurs.

• This year, five Miami restaurants, bakeries and chefs were named semifinalists .

What they're saying: "It's really an honor. I didn't expect it at all," Chang told Axios. The folks in Miami "are really the ones holding it down. I just get to watch the magic and I'm so proud of all of us."

• "It's been a long time since Miami brought a James Beard home," she said. "We felt snubbed for a lot of years, [but] I'm really proud."