45.2022 Edition

Editor: Justin Khanna​

Hey Reader,

I heard this fascinating reframe of goals the other day, and it was in relation to the cliché we've all heard: Focus on the journey, not the destination.

The reframe was that it IS the destination that matters.

If just “gritting through hard things” or “doing the boring work” or “practicing relentlessly on a task” was actually the most important thing, we would’ve identified the “best/hardest/coolest” journeys and we’d all be competing over those.

Becoming incredibly crisp on what the destination is can have phenomenal downstream motivational consequences.

On hard days, or when the work doesn’t provide return on investment, or when you get screwed over…the destination is what keeps you in it.

It also dictates HOW you’ll navigate the journey - planes, trains and automobiles are drastically different but all exist to effectively do the same thing (move things from Point A to Point B). Steve Ells (founder of Chipotle) wanted to be a successful restaurateur, he didn’t know it’d come from burritos instead of tasting menus.

I noticed the same thing in myself: I just had my best month ever in my business after actually setting a revenue target for myself. I used to shy away from these goals because it felt “safe.” I couldn’t lose the game if I never set a time limit or score outcome. I would fool myself by saying, "you're on a journey, don't focus on the metrics".

It's fun to write about this old note of mine this week because I heard it mentioned on Ryan Holiday's podcast tour he's doing in service of his new book about discipline. Have you read it yet? I've got it queued up for audio listening and I'm really excited to dig in....

Top Highlights 💡

​Future of Desserts

Bon Appetit goes after pastry programs: "Have you noticed how many dessert menus these days feature dishes like panna cotta and ice cream sundaes? What is the future of desserts? That's probably due to fewer pastry chefs in kitchens.

Amid soaring inflation and shrinking restaurant margins, this dwindling number of pastry chefs has translated to a monotony of made-ahead desserts which can be prepared by someone with little to no pastry experience.

“When budget cuts are made and you have to cut labor, it’s one of the first departments to go,” one pastry chef told BA. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy: Restaurants don’t invest in their pastry program because not enough people are ordering dessert. So they put low-labor, lackluster desserts on the menu. Then customers—who have palate fatigue from experiencing the same few dishes over and over—decide to skip dessert and just get the check. In turn, restaurants go on thinking pastry chefs aren’t needed. As Tampa bakery owner Brenda Villacorta sees it, “We’re becoming extinct.”

Our Take: It was awesome to see a bunch of restaurant owners (Alex Stupak, Amanda Cohen) come out on IG to share their $0.02 on this topic and defend their pastry chefs and their programs. I think there's a false equivalency that's being drawn to classic desserts being the problem.

On my recent trip to Peru, I went on a caramel flan binge, ordering it everywhere because this deceptively simple dessert is so tricky to nail (spoiler: Merito was the best one).

Take the ice cream sundae at Angler as another example (featured in my TPC Episode) of a "classic" done with thought and care put into the flavor and execution.

Another factor that I didn't see mentioned in the article is the "shooting themselves in the foot" that often happens at businesses. The restaurant experience often pins "dropping the dessert menu" as an after thought, versus something to be craved and hyped up to round out a meal.

On top of that, I can point to several examples from my experience where the first "hook up" that would come from the kitchen is a free dessert. Of course you're gonna notice slim or negative margins on desserts if you're giving them away for free!

What do you folks think of this article, and how are you navigating desserts these days?

​What is the toughest job in the restaurant?

Food & Wine's article on "The Toughest Job in a Restaurant" brings a lens to the often overlooked and under-appreciated role of the dishwashers in a successful, well run restaurant.

"Sam Fore, owner of Tuk Tuk Sri Lankan Bites in Lexington, KY, agreed enthusiastically with Newton’s assessment. “The dishwasher gets all the crap, essentially. You can end up with horribly scorched pans or plates full of food. If you get behind, the entire restaurant can get behind,” she said. “There’s a lot of pressure in that position and it’s often the most underpaid. If you don’t have a dishwasher, everything can break down so easily.”

Consider what “everything” entails. If the cooks on the line don’t have pots, pans, and utensils to work with, they’re totally hamstrung as tickets back up. If there are no clean plates, bowls, flatware, or other service ware, diners can’t be expected to slurp soup off the tabletop and mash potatoes into their mouths with their bare hands. If the kitchen isn’t cleaned at the end of service, the mess isn’t going to magically disappear overnight so prep can start fresh in the morning. Even with the recent national shift to takeout and delivery, and especially with a stripped-down staff as restaurants operate at partial capacity, a kitchen needs to function more efficiently than ever."

Our take: Appreciating the people around you who contribute to a successful environment is hugely important. I can often end the argument by saying, "if it's not important, then eliminate it" - and watch eyes start to shift as everyone says "oh shit, you're right..."

Each role within a kitchen makes a massive difference on food quality and kitchen productivity. Restauranteurs should pay a living wage to keep valuable, hard-working dishwashers happy and chefs should ensure their colleagues feel appreciated - I mean, most of us either started as dish washers or have had full shifts of running the dish area ourselves if staffing gets low!

ICYMI 🙌

Blanching and peeling cherry tomatoes when they're sweet as can be is something guests appreciate a ton. Check out my easy 2-part blanche and peel tomato tutorial (part 1 highlights a speed hack, and part 2 shares some fun use cases) - I loved learning from you folks, too, with this one; a ton of you have shared it's even faster when you deep fry them 👀

​Rushir Parikh, CEO of Popchew on The Repertoire Podcast - Listen to my chat with Rushir Parikh, the CEO of Popchew, the brains behind restaurant brands like WingSZN, Snapback Kitchen, and Bitcoin Pizza.

​Podcast Episode Notice! - If you haven't checked it out, this quick bonus episode gives 2 great tips for pop-ups and explains what chefs often miss when setting up these fun events.

​This Place Called Wayan - Restaurant experience video drop! Went to Cédric Vongerichten's French/Indonesian NYC Restaurant Wayan for a delicious meal with, you guessed it, Rushir Parikh (podcast guest above).

Quick Hits 💥

​When Regular Diners Visit a Michelin Restaurant - Fun read from a UK writer about their first experience in a Michelin restaurant. Without prior swanky eatery experience, Bosley brings the 411 on whether or not the 150 pounds was worth it. Hint: It was. 😋

​How Do Millennials and Gen-Zers Prefer to Be Trained - Younger employees need adequate training or they will quit. You might be surprised to find out which mode of training engages them best.

To Peep 👀

​Damasteel Chef Invitational - If you haven't checked out one of the most hyped knife events of the year, now's your chance. Plus it's all online, so regardless of where in the world you're ate, you can join!

​Total Station Domination is open for enrollment - if you've been thinking about taking the Repertoire flagship course all about kitchen productivity and tactics to perform better in high-caliber kitchens, there's never been a better time!

Quote I'm Pondering 💭

Thanks for reading, as always,

👊Justin​

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