Valerie Goldman
The Honey Paw | Portland, ME
SEPTEMBER 2023
Valerie Goldman worked in education after graduating college, but she felt she was missing out on something. Having worked as a server during school and grown up in a family of food lovers, she decided to pivot her plans and enroll at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, California. In 2012, she moved to Washington D.C. and joined the team as a line cook at Zaytinya. The next year, she accepted a job at The Source under Rising Stars alum Angel Barreto. There, she learned the foundations of wok cooking and zeroed in on Asian ingredients and flavor profiles. In 2014, she moved to Little Serow under Anne Marler and Johnny Monis. Looking to learn more about the range of Asian cuisines, she traveled around Southeast Asia for nearly two months, eating and absorbing as much as she possibly could.
Upon returning stateside, Goldman settled in Portland, Maine, and joined Rising Star alum Andrew Taylor's Big Tree Hospitality. She worked across the group's concepts, first as a line cook at The Honey Paw, making noodles and bread, and then at Eventide as sous chef. In 2018, she returned to The Honey Paw as sous chef, where she stayed for the next three years. Goldman went on to open and run the Higgins Beach Market in Scarborough, Maine before returning once again to The Honey Paw, this time as chef de cuisine. Dishes like her spicy rice salad with fermented sour sausage, red curry, lime leaf, coconut, and pickled kumquat celebrate Goldman’s connections to local farmers and her vast culinary knowledge and experiences. She has also dedicated herself to creating a more welcoming environment for her team, working closely with management to implement a free mental health program for her staff.
2023 StarChefs Coastal New England Rising Stars Award Winner
