NFT Chefs, "Worst Michelin Restaurant", and Restaurant Equity
(1 &) 2.2022 Edition
What's up Reader?
I posted a tweet, after I was asked to do an online cooking class for an NFT community, because I had an epiphany.
December 13th 2021
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What in the world am I talking about?
Everyone’s up in arms about Web3 (cryptocurrency payments, digital ownership, NFT’s, decentralized organizations), as the next evolution from Web2 (social media, large content monopolies, selling users' data, heavy ad-reliance models) after Web1 (basic search, blogs, data living on the shared internet).
Web1 behavior in most professional chefs actually became more popular when everyone else was building in Web2. 10 years ago, when Instagram was just becoming a thing, chefs realized it would probably be advantageous to become a searchable restaurant, post your menu .pdf online, and write a thoughtful “About” page.
The tools were finally available where you could build a website yourself, without hiring an expensive designer or learning to code.
And because of the high learning curve and large time investment, a lot of the industry missed Web2 entirely. I have friends and coaching clients who are looking to start a project, and look at creating on social media and getting sponsorships as a “nice to have”, but it’s incredibly difficult to start. You have to learn photography composition, post processing, copywriting, on-camera presence, buy all the gear, spend the time to learn how the platforms work...the list goes on.
However this epiphany about Web3 came after a few interesting conversations I’ve overheard through the “grapevine” from people in the space (aka newsletters I read and folks on Twitter).
“We’ll be offering exclusive access to dinners with token holders....”
“Our community will come together once a month to do activities like cooking...”
“Benefits include private brunches, lunches, and events with other high-profile investors...”
My Epiphany: The majority of chefs don’t have to learn anything new to benefit from Web3.
New communities, funded by reasonably cushy amounts of capital, connected by like-minded people are coming together, and they need things to do IRL (in real life).
It’s fun to talk about the future of “the metaverse” and how we’re all going to live in the digital world...but for now, humans still crave experiences where they can come together. Food is a perfect catalyst to facilitate that, and we’re all of a sudden seeing the audiences create themselves.
NFT projects that are obsessed with Japanese anime aesthetics and mental health.
DAOs that are obsessed with US History and want to “own” a tangible piece of it as a collective.
Shopping-focused cat projects that harbor a love for bodegas in New York City.
Just as we’re seeing a relative “stagnation” of creative ideas in menus, and a trend of “recreating the classics” on TikTok, combined with the crushing weight of COVID, governmental restrictions, and consumer behavior on brick-and-mortar restaurants, I see this glimmer of hope in what Web3 can provide for the industry.
“Okay Justin, but won’t big companies come in and swoop up all the opportunities?”
Maybe, but not for a while. These communities thrive on novelty, uniqueness, and love feeling like a “David” in a world full of “Goliaths”.
It’s not “cool” to bring in the Cheesecake Factory for your Discord community; but it IS cool to have someone like my friend Manny fly in from Houston do a custom menu featuring heirloom corn.
And the best part? He can get paid in crypto, receive exclusive NFT’s, or get tokens for that community. The education for him in the Web3 space will happen over time, but participation is possible immediately, without learning any new skills or making expensive investments into gear.
What happens next? Who knows. It’s like looking at a website in 2002 and predicting that Snapchat would be something we’d all have on our phones in 2010. The arenas haven’t even been created yet.
But I shared with a friend the other day, discussing this topic, that we could see a fascinating change in the creation of new cuisines, collaboratively, online. "Keto" food is touted as one of the first examples of this, coming together initially on Reddit, not through any specific geographical place.
Other examples:
-There could finally be an increased incentive to put your stamp on a dish and get royalties every single time someone uses it.
-What if you grow the reputation of being the “Exec Chef” of an NFT community, and when you're ready to move on, you “recruit” for that position, which guarantees a certain “token salary” and value of the NFT that accompanies it. Next person grows it even more? They stand to profit when they leave, too. Compare that with the typical "chef transition" that happens these days, with flared tempers, burned bridges, and bruised egos.
All I’m excited for is the ability for chefs to crush it this decade. For the incentives to re-calibrate to a more neutral place. For collaboration to be prioritized over ego. For creativity to be celebrated. For investing to become the standard.
If this is your first time wrapping your head around anything Web3 and you find it interesting, it’s best to get on Twitter ASAP, or just join a free Discord community. I don’t have anything to sell you, but I DO want you to be informed and savvy as the world moves.
What do you folks think?
Highlights from the week to share 💥
To Read 📚
scuba, panic, empathy - Derek Sivers hadn't experienced a panic attack up until the moment he went scuba diving in Iceland. This incident taught him a few lessons. Here's a quote you might enjoy: “These things that only seem to happen to other people can happen to me. We’re not so different. It helps me recognize it in others, and be most helpful by remembering that feeling.”
Bros., Lecce: We Eat at The Worst Michelin Starred Restaurant, Ever - A Michelin star is the ultimate hallmark of culinary excellence. However, after visiting Bros, Lecce’s only Michelin-starred restaurant, Geraldine DeRuiter called it “The Worst Michelin Starred Restaurant, Ever”. A 27-course meal which spanned 4.5 hours was a “Very, very expensive theater”. Check out the blogpost to read about her full experience. I wanna do a solo podcast on this story, and the back and forth that accompanied it...I'm curious to hear if you have thoughts on the whole situation.
To Binge 📺
How to be TRULY Original - I've shared interviews with LOGIC before with you folks here in the newsletter, but this was, by far, my favorite. Allowing fans of his to genuinely ask questions at the end was heartwarming, hearing stories of his past was gut wrenching, and learning more about his creative process was inspiring as hell.
What to do if you get offered equity in a restaurant - A new clip from the podcast channel featuring some advice from Matt Rolfe, because it's not always a binary decision...
To Peep 👀
The Demi Skills Course Email List - If you aren't on this already, but you're interested in my course on Adaptive Kitchen Productivity...click the link and you'll be signed up to hear about the launch! There will also be a free, 5-Day-Kitchen-Productivity Challenge that includes over 40 minutes of content, directly taken from the course, that's (FINALLY) launching in the next 72 hours. We've landed on the dates of the first cohort: February 7th, and it runs for 4 weeks, and I'll be sharing more over the coming weeks here, and on the channel 😎
The Salary Trap - George Mack calls “Salary Trap” accepting a job because it gives you the largest pay increase. However, he also says that this was his worst mistake. So the question here becomes: what should you focus on- learning or earning?
15 most expensive Michelin-starred restaurants in the world 🥢🍽 $$$ - “These are the 15 most expensive Michelin-starred restaurants in the world 🥢🍽 $$$ - my natural question becomes: why has fine dining in America plateaued at $300-$500 on the highest end? What would a $1,700 tasting menu look like here in the US?
ICYMI
TPC The French Laundry - My long-awaited return to the Thomas Keller's Yountville restaurant - and they blew us up. Check out a long post I did in the Community for even MORE thoughts that I didn't share in the voiceover.
Matt Rolfe on the Emulsion Podcast - as I shared, Matt is a renowned leadership coach and hospitality expert. In his new bestselling book "You Can’t Do It Alone", Matt shows how to make employee development central to your business growth plan through culture, unity, and leading with true authenticity. I'd love to have you give it a listen, or watch the full video on YouTube.
Current experiment I'm running 🧪
Taking a genuine curiosity to keeping track of business finances.
For the first few years of owning a business, I told myself that accounting, payroll, and reducing margins was "someone else's job". I got it done, but I always procrastinated on it, or dreaded sitting down to look at the numbers.
I realized that belief was really just getting in the way of me feeling like I had insight to what was happening "under the hood", and I've approached it with a new-found interest this year. I'm back using Quickbooks, and shockingly surprised at how well it integrates to the other tools that I use every day (30% of the tasks just automatically get done!).
My CPA chuckles at how fired-up I get for our meetings together now, because I'm constantly asking about improvements I can be making and inquiring into new tax laws and how she approaches accounting.
All it took was looking at it from a different perspective: how can I achieve TSD of Finance Station?
Quote I'm Pondering 🤔
...a share of this newsletter! Links are below and I'd love to provide some value to a friend or colleague you think this would be perfect for.
👊Justin
Throwback Video - Today’s Throwback Video is the first ever Intermezzo episode, which is all about my thoughts on "Food Aversions”. I've been through a lot of kitchens where this is a real problem, and that's formed my opinion on this controversial topic.
