Nando Chang has earned accolades many chefs spend entire careers chasing—a Michelin star and a James Beard Award in the same year. Yet, at House of Robb Miami on Thursday night, he made clear that none of it compares to seeing repeat customers come back to his restaurant.

“None of these awards give you the sense of belonging that a return guest gives you,” he told Robb Report‘s executive editor John Vorwald. For Chang the real validation is not a plaque on the wall, but a familiar face ordering a dish he is still refining after countless repetitions.

Food was a family affair long before it became a career. Chang grew up in a household where meals were events and opinions were plentiful. His father, a classically trained sushi chef, taught precision and discipline; his sister Val, a fellow James Beard Award-winner and his closest creative collaborator, pushed him to trust his instincts. Their early kitchen debates formed the backbone of their style. “Eating good was part of our family,” Chang said. “Not just eating—we liked to talk shit.”

That dynamic carried into the restaurants they built together. What began as a small food hall counter evolved into Chang’s first solo venture, Itamae AO, a 10-seat omakase-style Nikkei tasting menu. Miami sharpened his approach to Japanese-Peruvian cooking—ceviche brightened with local citrus, leche de tigre layered with heat. He recalled how a food writer he respected once tasted his fermented chili squid and reacted so intensely that he knew he had created something that felt distinctly Miami—bright, spicy, and impossible to ignore.

Despite the recognition, Chang closed Itamae AO the same year he earned them. The pressure of fine dining was constant; every two-hour seating carried the possibility of a Michelin inspection. “It takes a toll on your family and your personal life,” he said. Still, he acknowledges that the restaurant gave him some of the most creatively fulfilling moments of his career.

Stepping away helped him rediscover what he missed most—the movement of a crowded dining room, the immediacy of an à la carte menu, and the daily collaboration with his sister and team. His current work includes overseeing menus for Gekko, the Japanese-inspired steakhouse from David Grutman and Bad Bunny, among others, which allows him to apply fine-dining technique at scale while staying close to ingredients. Staying hands-on protects the joy that drives him.

When asked what he would tell young cooks, Chang didn’t hesitate. “Ice up.” The industry delivers bruises of every kind, he said, but the reward is worth it.

And for him, that reward is not a star or an award ceremony. It is the guest who comes back again.