Chef Bernard Matz: On Wet Paint, Books & Books, and Cooking as a Life

Chef Bernard Matz has been in the culinary industry for over 20 years. He opened Wet Paint Café on South Beach in 1986 — one of the first cafés on the strip, back when the rent was cheap and nobody was really out there. His co-chef at the time was Douglas Rodriguez, who went on to become one of the most celebrated Latin chefs in the country.

In 2004, Matz partnered with Books & Books owner Mitchell Kaplan to open the Café at Books & Books on Lincoln Road — a restaurant inside a bookstore, or a bookstore around a restaurant, depending on how you look at it. PGM's Marie-Junie Pierre met with Chef Bernard at the breezy outdoor café to talk about his career, his cookbook, and what it actually takes to make it in this business.

I knew innately that I was going to be a Chef but I never wanted to be a Chef. It took me 25 years to actually do it.

On how the café came together: Mitchell Kaplan had seen seven different operators cycle through the café space in five years, some of them trying to encroach on the bookstore's business. When the landlord offered him the space outright, he brought in Matz. They kept the name simple — the Café at Books & Books — and started with 30 seats. It now seats about 140.

On his background: Matz briefly attended a culinary institute in 1996 but considers himself self-taught. He met Kaplan during the signing of his multimedia cookbook, Bernie's Kitchen, released in 2004 — the first book of its kind, he says, produced during the dot-com era when he was working in internet marketing and design.

On what comes next: Matz says he'd love to oversee a chain of Books & Books cafés across the country, and separately develop a chain of fast food Cuban restaurants. If neither works out, he'd probably go back to sales — he has an MBA in Finance and says he's always been good at it.

There is nothing like real hands-on experience in this business. School is a great background if one can afford to put in the time — but if someone really wants to succeed, a part-time job in a restaurant is not just helpful. It is vital.