52.2022 Edition

Editor: Justin Khanna​

Hey Reader,

I’ll keep my monologue short this week, as it’s about to be a big week of writing for My 2023 Playbook, featuring my favorite lessons learned and what I’ll be planning for the year ahead.

This edition actually seeks to highlight a ton of the incredible folks that have helped Repertoire not just start, but grow in 2022. I’m wildly grateful to get to work with some really talented professionals who really help make it all possible:

Kevin Bui | Director + Videographer + Producer - Kevin created videos that were viewed over 2M+ times this year across YouTube, TikTok and Instagram 🤯 he’s also got a chef background which made it a blast to work with him, and I can’t wait to do more together on some even increasingly ambitious projects in the new year.

Pranjal Bhansali | Marketing + Course Logistics + Copywriting - Pranjal also has ties to restaurants through her partner that’s a chef. She’s only a few weeks into the weeds with Repertoire, but she helps put this very newsletter together every single week, ensures that student experience is rock solid for all Repertoire courses, and that our podcast show notes are world-class 💪

Joe Oh | Videographer + Editor - Joe’s actually the person I’m “speaking with” in the video intro of The Repertoire Podcast…he’s a bit of an OG. Joe and I met almost 4 years ago and he’s just recently become the main podcast editor. So between him and Kevin, it’s been a huge help in getting edits locked in and on a consistent schedule!

To all of the coaches I’ve hired, podcast guests who have agreed to spend 1+ hour with me, brand partners who sponsor the content, and of course you folks for reading, liking, watching, commenting, and sharing what’s been valuable to you 🙏

Thank you all for a stellar 2022, and I’m wishing you a happy new year! 🎊

Top Hits 💥

​Vice’s Munchies Hit With Layoffs​

Munchies, Vice's food vertical, has reportedly shut down and laid off staff, despite the website and social media pages remaining active. Munchies, which launched in 2014 with a focus on food culture and original recipes, has faced a shift towards video content and a decrease in articles in recent years. Despite initial success with its TV network, Viceland, and shows featuring chefs such as Eddie Huang and Matty Matheson, the network ultimately failed to meet Vice's ambitions. Executive Culinary Director Farideh Sadeghin expressed disappointment and sadness at the news, but excitement for what's next.

Our Take: It’s not enough to just make great video content anymore. Between the democratization of tools combined with permission-less leverage and ease of access to best practices, it’s difficult to stand out.

Munchies built a great brand and really thrived (we’re a bit confused, because they’re still uploading on their channel as of this week) but with no clear monetization strategy, they were probably feeling like they were on the “content hamster wheel” with YouTube AdSense being a primary revenue stream. We’re actually shocked that there hasn’t been an acquisition yet; it’s a wildly attractive platform with a 5M subscriber channel and nearly 1M Instagram followers. If you’re considering building a media brand, use stories like these as “cautionary tales”, and incorporate other ways to sustain your operations like building community, offering your own products, or selling the content itself.

​World’s Best Restaurant Noma Reports First Loss Since 2017​

Noma, the Copenhagen restaurant known for its high prices and repeated ranking as the world's best, suffered a net loss of $240,000 in 2021 after recording a small profit in 2020. Despite receiving $150,000 in COVID-19 support from the Danish government, the restaurant struggled financially. This marks the first time Noma has been unprofitable since 2017, when chef Rene Redzepi temporarily closed the restaurant for a revamp. The restaurant, which currently holds three Michelin stars and is ranked first on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list, plans to temporarily close in Copenhagen and tour other countries before returning in 2023.

Our Take: First, let’s correct a bit of inaccurate reporting: Geranium currently holds the #1 spot on the World’s 50 Best list, even though Noma has earned the title in the past and remains on the “Best of the Best” list.

It’s also important to underscore what’s being optimized for in a project like Noma. We don’t think profit is the goal for the restaurant itself, so outside investment and additional revenue sources are often needed (a common practice in other industries, too).

Noma is (arguably) much more interested in notoriety, creative expression and cataloging their work (see: the 16 Administration positions on their website - at a modest $50K salary estimation, that’s over $800K in admin expense, annually). Noma has also bolstered it’s kitchen labor practices via 6 & 12-month paid internship programs, which are only available via applications. We still haven’t heard about the boots-on-the-ground details behind that or what the pay is.

On first glance, a $240,000 "loss" seems like a lot, but in the grand scheme of the entire year’s financials, it’s actually incredibly close to “breaking even”. Doing some back-of-napkin math, operating for 50 weeks of the year, at 80 guests a day, for 5 days a week, at $700/guest, it’s bringing in $14M/year of revenue (on the low end). See why it’s important to go beyond the headline?

​Productivity Secrets to Learn from Michelin-Starred Chefs​

We know there are folks that read this newsletter that don't work in the hospitality industry; if that's you, this one's for you!

Mise en place is a French term used in professional kitchens to refer to the practice of organizing and preparing all necessary ingredients and tools before starting to cook. This system was developed in the 1800s in France and has been adopted by chefs around the world to help them work more efficiently.

In the context of modern creative work, there are four key practices that we can borrow from mise en place to improve our productivity:

1. Decide the order of operations: In a kitchen, the order in which tasks are completed is crucial. The same is true in our own work. By focusing on the most important tasks first and considering the order in which we complete them, we can be more effective and save time in the long run.

2. Distinguish between background tasks and immersive tasks: Some tasks, like checking emails, can be done in the background while we focus on more immersive tasks. By identifying which tasks fall into each category, we can better manage our time and energy.

3. Use placeholders to remember things: In a kitchen, chefs use placeholders like tickets or taped notes to remember what needs to be done. We can do the same in our own work by using tools like to-do lists or note-taking apps to keep track of our tasks and ideas. Students of Total Station Domination know all about this through the Marking Your Board skill that we teach to keep track of incoming orders!

4. Adopt a finishing mindset: In a kitchen, chefs are always working towards the end goal of serving a completed meal. By adopting a similar mindset in our own work, we can stay focused on completing tasks and avoid getting bogged down in the details.

PS: This text was taken from Tiago's video, all credits go to him! This only a text format of the video that he has up on his YouTube channel!

ICYMI 🙌

Pro Chef Breaks Down The Bear on Hulu - From a chef to long-form creator to now doing some short-form content! Follow my YouTube and TikTok to check out my latest uploads.

We hit a total of 3.5M views on all our Bear videos combined, with 2 videos surpassing the 1M mark alone!

Last Podcast Episode of 2022! - Our guest is Eneko Axpe, a gastrophysicist who has been awarded one of the world's 50 Next Awards from San Pellegrino for his work in science innovation.

In this episode, we discussed Eneko's background in material sciences and physics, and how he applied these principles to the culinary world. We will also discussed his work in fine dining concepts, food manipulation, and finding textural opportunities in food.

​Back of Napkin Math: Food/Menu Costing ➗ - I want all of you folks to be able to participate in financial conversations, and members of the Repertoire Pro Community got presented with a costing-related challenge this week. If you've been wanting to join in exclusive live streams, network with other professionals, and participate in challenges, join today!​

This Week, We Learned… 🧠

​This Is What I Learned In My First Year of Running a Micro Bakery - Finding Comfort and Connection in the Pandemic through the Art of Making Conchas

"Starting a micro bakery during the pandemic taught me how to run a business the hard way, but the focus on locality, regionality, and seasonality at a smaller scale has allowed me to prioritize my own happiness and minimize waste. Despite the challenges of educating customers and setting boundaries, I'm grateful for the opportunity to share my love for pan dulce and conchas with my community.”

​2023 Food Trend Predictions - Briny flavors, high-end Jell-O shots, a fascination with outer space and a concern for Earth will guide our choices. At least that’s what the food forecasters say.

​The Best Kitchen Shops in New York - JB Prince, a long time supporter of Repertoire was listed as on the best kitchen shops in New York! Checkout JB Prince and more such places to get your kitchen equipment.

Comment from you folks:

To Peep 👀

Hocho Knife - End of Year Sale! - Get 30% off and free upgraded express shipping before 31 Dec!

Tilit Year End Sale! - Take 30% off before Jan 1! LAST CHANCE!

Quote I'm Pondering 💭

Thanks for reading, as always,

👊Justin​

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