Episode 9: Victoria Blamey

**PLEASE DON’T BE CONFUSED: OUR FIRST 94 EPISODES ORIGINALLY AIRED ON OUR FORMER HOST NETWORK, AND STILL FEATURE THEIR STATION ID’S AND ADS. BUT ANDREW TALKS TO CHEFS HAS BEEN AN INDEPENDENT PODCAST SINCE 2019, AND WE’VE  NOW AIRED SEVERAL HUNDRED EPISODES, AND COUNTING! SO … THE ONLY CURRENT, COMPLETE, AND OFFICIAL SITE FOR THE PODCAST IS ANDREWTALKSTOCHEFS.COM (PLEASE VISIT AND BOOKMARK), WHERE YOU CAN FIND ALL EPISODES, ANDREW’S MUSINGS, NEWS ABOUT PERSONAL AND VIRTUAL APPEARANCES, AND RELATED INFORMATION. THANKS!**Victoria Blamey is a good sport. The chef of Chumley’s, the reinvigorated former speakeasy in New York City’s West Village, agreed to meet Andrew for a shift drink and interview after dinner service at the restaurant. The two got to it around midnight and talked up a storm over cocktails, while Victoria’s crew gradually wrapped up their evening all around them. The two discussed the restaurant’s already-famous burger and why Victoria won’t customize it (a philosophical disagreement she and Andrew had been arguing for months off-radio); what it was like to be a young, female chef from Chile coming up in Michelin-starred kitchens in the UK and Australia; and her stints working for chefs like Paul Liebrandt (Corton), Matt Lightner (Atera), and Justin Smillie (Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria and Upland). Victoria also shares the origins and inspirations for her distinct visual style and her thoughts about cooking as an expression of self. A personal conversation befitting the hour and setting. Pull up a chair and join them, won’t you? THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!