51.2022 Edition

Hey Reader,

What would it feel like to have a chef with 6 Michelin stars (across 2 cities) ask you to run the culinary operations for one of his projects?

Few of us will ever even get the chance to consider that, and I was wildly curious to know the answer 👇

I had the pleasure of speaking with Corey Chow on the podcast this week. He was Thomas Keller’s Chef-de-Cuisine at Per Se.

For those that might not know, Chef Keller is rarely at Per Se or French Laundry, and he’s cooking there even less. His visits usually include face time with the staff and spending time in the dining room with guests.

TK is both busy with other projects, and tends to see the value in being hands-off with the day-to-day operations. Some might consider this phenomenal success: being able to have a high-functioning restaurant group without standing behind the stove every night.

He’s even gone so far as to showcase the person in that role for certain awards and accolades, versus being the face of the operation himself (check out this archived page I managed to find from World’s 50 Best in 2016):

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So I was wildly curious: how does that conversation even happen? What’s it like to have Thomas Keller ask you to take the helm?

I was expecting Corey’s answer to include words & phrases like “back room”, “undisclosed location”, “private dinner/jet”, “came out of nowhere”, “surprised”, “shocked”…but his answer was packed with wisdom:

“You know it’s coming.”

The quality and caliber of how Corey was already working made it a natural outcome that he would be granted that opportunity. And when it happened, there was zero surprise. Of COURSE he got asked to be chef-de-cuisine.

I loved this answer because it adds a slight proactive shift to the “just manifest it” or “think it into existence” advice.

Of course you should keep your goals top of mind, but what if you were to become the type of person who wouldn’t be shocked by your dream outcome happening? Your actions and behavior would outweigh the doubt.

It seems almost insultingly simple.

If you want to go from charging $50/pp for your dinners to $250/pp - what would the person who already charges that be doing?

Let’s say you’re pushing to go from grill station to sous chef. How might a great sous chef behave?

Maybe your goal is 10,000 followers. What does someone with that kind of audience do differently than you?

It might be an interview with your dream company. What would get them stoked to find you as a candidate?

This isn’t “fake it ‘til you make it” advice, either. I’m not suggesting you change your Instagram bio or your email signature right now - this is about stepping into those shoes and identifying the holes in your skillset that might exist.

It’s often painful to do this, not fun.

“Shoot, I guess I’m pretty unorganized”

“Huh, I could really be better at listening to my clients and expanding my service offerings”

“Man…I need to work on being more consistent”

But on the other side of that pain, you get tangible points to work on, instead of throwing up your hands and claiming that you’re just “unlucky” or “aren’t getting picked”.

You can take action on this as soon as tomorrow. Sure, it might take time, but it’s much more in-your-control than crossing your fingers, holding your breath and just “hoping it’ll happen soon”.

Nearly every story of “overnight success” typically come with a 2-20 year runway that precedes it. And the remaining stories of “overnight success” are typically followed by stories of “overnight loss” - is that what you’re really looking for?

The more you can shift your belief on how (& when) you get what you want, the more likely it’ll be that you get it 🙌

Go listen to the rest of my conversation with Corey - it was an honor to host him and it’s got several more gems inside 💎🎧

Top Hits 💥

MUNCHIES on Instagram Spilling some 🫖☕️

click image to checkout the Instagram post!

"People who work in food service (and adjacent industries) deal with a lot—the occasional condescending diner, picky eaters, bad tippers, drunks, pushy customers, pranksters— they've seen it all. And as the holidays draw near, this frenzy can grow more hectic. What for the rest of us is a debaucherous night out on the town or a stress-free dinner for them is a job. They say you can tell a lot about a person by the way they treat workers, and no one understands the truth in this statement better than these folks themselves. We spoke with the waiters, bartenders, and weed dealers who make your holidays more bearable to find out what drives them mad and makes them glad (hint: show them respect, be patient, and tip well).”

Our Take: You may have been on the giving (or receiving) end of this behavior, but only people on the receiving end know what it is truly like to be treated without a single ounce of respect. It is the holiday season and spreading this message is more important than ever!

A hot take, or a rather controversial take, if you are a server/bartender/ any front-of-house role, take that extra step to make your customer’s experience better. Kill them with kindness, as some say!

Has Haute Cuisine Become an Endangered Category of Restaurant Cooking?

In New York and L.A., fine dining establishments aren't garnering the attention they used to receive. Here's why that's a loss.

One might wonder if haute cuisine is an endangered category of restaurant cooking, or whether it is somehow morally suspect. Longtime readers of the New York Times may be forgiven for thinking that no new fine dining establishments have opened in the last few years—that the New York dining scene is composed entirely of food trucks and pizza joints.

The Times regularly reviews the opera and the ballet and the contemporary art scene, but since the pandemic wound down, the Food section has systematically ignored recently opened, relatively expensive and ambitious establishments like Le Pavillon, Saga, Les Trois Chevaux, Vestry, and Sixty Three Clinton Street, to name but a few.

Our Take: We don’t tend to have this problem because our feeds are filled with great restaurant news - but it’s certainly shocking to hear that folks that live in NYC haven’t heard of Saga or One White Street. Same with Addison or Kato in LA.

However, it’s a little silly and out-of-touch to put the NYT as the keystone source of restaurant content & intel. Bon Appetit, for example, has over 6M+ views on their videos on YouTube where they go into restaurants, highlight the chefs, showcase the menus and provide dynamic video content of the day-to-day. Eater’s Mise en Place taught me more about what Chef Matt Kammerer is doing at Harbor House Inn than any article ever did. I feel like I get way more insight into the LA dining scene through Max Shapiro’s IG stories than the next 3 food critics, combined.

The diners who love food, decide to spend their disposable income on experiences, and value quality hospitality are still stoked on “Haute Cuisine” - it’s where they discover it that’s changing. Do you folks think this is a “generational” or information-medium problem, or does this article hold weight?

THIS IS NOT A HOTEL. This is our house, and you are our guest.

“In case you forgot anything, we've tried to anticipate everything. It's not for everyone, no children or pets, maximum of two guests per room, no foldout beds, no thumping music, no loud or grumpy guests.

To honor your privacy, we ask that guests refrain from taking photographs or posting the property on social media.

Lastly, we don't have silly rules, like breakfast ends at eleven.”

Our Take: This is how unique hospitality experiences should be pitched - notice the phrasing of “this is not a hotel” that clearly rules out certain types of consumers and only appeals to the folks that would adore this brand experience.

This is what it means to be a “market maverick".... a furniture store, A FURNITURE STORE, decides to put their hat in the hospitality industry, and create a luxurious and unique experience for their guests - we're drooling 🤤 over this marketing genius!

ICYMI 🙌

We published a TON of content this week - so I wanted to jump in and share a genuine thanks and kudos to everyone liking, sharing, commenting and supporting the hard work that goes into all the videos, episodes and writings... means a ton! - ❤️ Justin

To Pop-up or not to Pop-up, is the Question - Checkout our advice on pop-ups, with some basic math to put things into perspective. “In reality there's so much other complexity that underlies a pop-up. We write this to make you aware of those complexities, so you can acknowledge them, plan for them, and ultimately charge for that extra work so that you can remain profitable and sustainable in your business.” Turns out this answer in an #AskJK video ended up becoming its own blog post!

All About That Plating! 🍽️ Watch our latest video to learn 4 plating layouts to use, alongside a guide to improve your plating speed. If you wanna practice this in a way that won't break the bank, Reps for Plating is also available on the Justin Khanna channel now, alongside a FREE DOWNLOADABLE 🆓⤵️ speed-tracking matrix!

Corey Chow | Overcoming Fear, Leading in Kitchens and Asking for Help - Listen to the new episode of the Repertoire Podcast 🎧

We Hit ✨1M Views ✨ on our TikTok Video Reacting to The Bear! 🧸🎉 - Follow for more short-form content, but rest assured that if TikTok gets banned, it's all still available on YouTube 🤳🏼 And if you would like to watch in-depth breakdowns of all episodes from the show, checkout this YouTube playlist!

This Week, We Learned… 🧠

My Thoughts On Alcohol - Mike Thurston - “Excess of everything is bad!". This old proverb is a guide for doing any thing in moderation, helping us live a balanced life.

Do You Eat Ethically? - “Did you know that the federal tipped minimum has been $2.13 since 1991? With abysmally low hourly wages, tips aren't just something extra. They're often the majority of a server's wages. How do restaurant workers live on some of the lowest wages in America? And how do poor working conditions - discriminatory labor practices, exploitation, and unsanitary kitchens - affect the meals that arrive at our restaurant tables?”

16 People and Companies Changing the Way We Eat and Drink in 2022 - When we talk about the hospitality industry, we don't just mean restaurants, we're talking about the food and drink community at large: the farmers who grow the food that ends up on our plates, the sommeliers who introduce you to your new favorite wines, the technology platforms helping independent restaurants thrive in a digital age.

Comment from you folks:

We gotta upgrade our soap-game! *Adding it to my wishlist right away!*

To Peep 👀

As the holiday season is upon us, here are a list of items to buy for your friend/family/significant-other working in the industry! Thank me later 😉