49.2022 Edition

Editor: Justin Khanna​

Hey Reader,

Visualize your creative process.

No, I’m not talking about some woo-woo “manifesting” talk - this can really make an impact.

I was speaking with a chef-owner last week about a restaurant concept he’s opening. In our coaching call, he was talking to me about feeling “scattered” with his creative ideas.

Not just his opening menu, but for what would become signature dishes for the concept.

I proposed an idea that I hadn’t ever shared before, and I wanted to expand on it here in case it’ll help you, too.

Quick story time 👇

The last chef I worked for opened a restaurant called Lysverket.

He was coming off of experiences at places like Alinea, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and Per Se. His opening menu felt like a “Frankenstein” of that food, without any clear identity.

I felt the same way when I moved to Seattle and started doing my own menus - except I was doing food that looked like Lysverket (funny how that happens, huh?)

The way he solved this problem (or at least made substantial progress on it) was to consistently review menus and compare them to previous ones.

I distinctly remember watching him, after a Saturday night service (when we had just gotten done with a brutal 14 hour day) walking to the front of the dining room and removing printed menus from their wooden holders, and pulling out a 3-ring binder that he would carefully place them in.

He'd then flip through the menus, almost like a trip back in time, to see how his food was changing and evolving.

This “weekly review” of his creative output is one key factor in what I believe helped him go from “no identity” to becoming a beacon for cuisine in his city, and ultimately earning Lysverket a Michelin star this year.

Back to the chef-owner that I was speaking with in the call - I suggested he adopt this principle, ramp it up, and fold in principles of “Building in Public”. Here was my idea 👇

Set up a visually-available, IRL place on the wall where your creative ideas live. Populate it with bangers; dishes that you’re already super proud of or feel polished after several rounds of iteration.

Keep your “in progress” dishes nearby, too. Show what’s being worked on, and notice how this affects your creative process. Picture 2 white boards or taped off sections of a wall in the kitchen.

This does multiple things:

• Allows for the “dish iteration” (aka “diteration”…I’m still working on it, but I love that term) process to be clearly visualized - it’s not “buried” in some digital tool in the cloud or on your desktop
• Your best ideas are on display, so you provide evidence against the “I don’t have any good ideas” monster that sometimes creeps into your process
• The team you’re working with can see what matters, not to mention how ideas move from “seed” to “service-ready”
• It follows the “what gets measured, gets managed” framework that massive companies use to ensure that they’re focusing on the right things. Let’s ditch the idea that creativity happens in some “secret society” and make it publicly observable.

You know what your goals are, but I think you should let your goals see you. Make in-real-life representations of them and put them on display. I’ve got a clip of the call here, which is only shared to newsletter subscribers (I swear a lot…apparently I was really in my zone, don’t play around young ears 😂):

If you’re interested in coaching with me, it’s included in either a group setting or 1:1 through Total Station Domination. You can also apply for booking individual calls here.

Top Hits 💥

​The Fine Dining Dilemma​

By charging the actual cost of the meal, you limit customers to the rich.

"As high-end restaurants battle to balance the chase for accolades and a quality experience with an attractive cost for customers, the welfare of staff is at risk. We ask some of Ireland’s top chefs if a sustainable model exists or is the true cost of fine dining is too high?

Some with an intimate understanding of the world of fine dining question whether the traditional model under which high-end restaurants operate is sustainable. And by sustainable, they are not talking only about sourcing ingredients responsibly, composting and eliminating cling film, but about people, too." - The Independent

Our Take: There are endless possibilities when it comes to fine dining but re-examining the business model makes sense. As prices soar, some customers are being priced out of fine dining establishments, but not all. We can point to other data points that show that fine dining businesses are crushing it right now with extensive wait lists, greater uptake on earlier seatings (ie: 5pm) and additional desires for supplements (extra courses, wine pairings, cocktails). The mid-tier fine dining place (not an exact number, but somewhere between $110-$170/pp) might be too tight once expenses are factored in. Or worse, those expenses aren't prioritized and the product, staff or operations has to suffer...

​Bidding wars, rising salaries — and which kinds of restaurants have weathered the pandemic better​

A Hospitality Recruiter shares the macro-trends happening in the industry, where they stemmed from, and what to do about it.

"As these thirty-somethings were getting out, the same volume of twenty-somethings were not getting in. They weren’t going to work 14-hour days, for very little pay, while being yelled at. And that’s when I started to hear every chef ask, “Where are all the cooks?” That’s when the attrition rate changed, and the scales tipped. The previous generation was not being replaced, because the next generation had wised up to the fact that these were working-class jobs and not middle-class careers. And the industry didn’t do anything to address it. At the time, chefs and owners just blamed young people and said, “These millennials or Gen Z kids don’t want to work.” And then, COVID."

Our take: Getting insights from a recruiter is incredible, because they have multiple case studies across different types of businesses to draw from. It's not always productive to "complain" about the state of things, but understanding where issues come from can often help inform solutions and paths forward. It's no surprise that the same thing keeps happening if nothing changes, amirite? We'll remain bullish on innovation and new incentive structures that will allow for win-win-win situations across the "triangle" of business owners, employees, and customers 🔼

ICYMI 🙌

​Have you seen The Bear? - Check out my chef-centric commentary on each episode, key scenes and specific food moments! 🔪 🎬 Episode 4-7 out now! Catch-up before Ep. 8!​

🎧 Spotify 2022 Wrapped is here & we cannot keep calm! The Repertoire Podcast is in the top 10% of most-followed podcasts and we crossed 100K downloads! 🎙️🎉

​Andrew Friedman Interview is out! - Dive into our latest episode with Andrew Friedman, an acclaimed author, food writer, and host of the podcast Andrew Talks to Chefs.

This Week, We Learned… 🧠

​Amid post-pandemic and inflation jitters, creativity thrives in restaurants - Despite the economic environment, people still want great food. Get more insights into what consumers are looking for and how to navigate the next 6-12 months as a business owner

​Effin B. Radio Podcast Episode with Eli Sussman - A fun podcast episode with Eli Sussman (and his restaurant meme mania) from friend-of-the-show Lindsay Collins. His hysterical restaurant meme posts are sure to make you laugh.

​The Problem With Alinea - Chicago’s only Michelin three-star restaurant continues to achieve moments of brilliance but struggles to keep up with the times. “Alinea feels stuck in time, relying on its old bag of tricks.”

Comment from you folks:

To Peep 👀

​Korin's 40th Anniversary Sale - You can find Suisin Hayate knives at low, low prices. These knives are notoriously expensive so check out the sale while it lasts!

​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!

​Get 20% off The Control Freak Induction Cooktop, while it lasts! Grab yourself the world’s first controlled induction cooking system to accurately measure, set and hold every cooking temperature from 86-482 °F.

Quote I'm Pondering 💭

Thanks for reading, as always,

👊Justin​

​