Valerie Albanese

Valerie is a self-proclaimed macaroni and cheese guru and a lover of all things fried. She believes that biscuits should be President, and firmly thinks that pizza should be consumed daily!

Valerie began her culinary career as a private chef in New York City, while simultaneously staging under Chef Marco Canora at his celebrated restaurant, Hearth. She then attended The International Culinary Center (formerly the French Culinary Institute) where she was a student in the Italian Culinary Experience program under renowned Michelin-starred Italian Chef Cesare Casella.

During this program, she moved to Italy and became dually trained in French technique and Italian cuisine. Based in the Tuscan city of Lucca, Valerie worked under Chef Maurizio Marsili at Antico Caffe delle Mura, who showed her what it means to cook with passion and love.

From Italy, Valerie moved to Colorado where she worked at the beloved foodie destination, Frasca, and managed Frasca Caffe. During her time in one of the best beer states in the USA, Valerie’s love of beer and its connection to food blossomed. She set her sights on becoming a Certified Cicerone and successfully passed the exam in 2017.

Since then, Valerie has returned to her home state of Georgia where she has worked for some of Atlanta’s best names in Hospitality as both a General Manager and a Food and Beverage Operator.

Valerie currently resides in The ATL where you can often find her roaming the streets with her two (very) spoiled dogs in search of anything covered in melted cheese!