Building skills beyond the kitchen with Justin Khanna | 060

Want to build a restaurant career that doesn't leave you burnt out? In this episode of The Pre-Shift Podcast, we chat with Justin Khanna, a chef who's cooked at some of the world's best restaurants, before switching gears to become an educator and founder of Repertoire. Justin takes us behind the scenes of his days at Per Se and The French Laundry, sharing what those kitchens taught him about way more than just cooking great food. He explains why running a successful restaurant isn't just about having a superstar chef but about creating systems that work even when you're not there. Justin also dives into how his education platform helps restaurants keep their best staff by actually measuring what makes someone good at their job. If you want to level up your restaurant career or build a team that sticks around, you'll walk away with practical ideas you can use immediately.

Resources

• Connect with Justin Khanna on LinkedIn and TikTok 🔗
• Visit: Repertoire 📚
• Watch: Justin's YouTube Channel 📺
• 7shifts Restaurant Management Training Guide 📝

Chapters

• 0:00 - Justin's culinary background and content creation
• 2:12 - Fine dining kitchens
• 5:40 - What fine dining kitchen culture is really like
• 11:10 - Finding your own voice as a chef
• 15:35 - Restaurant concepts vs chef personalities
• 21:30 - From pop-ups to full-time content creation
• 23:30 - The evolution of restaurant content creation
• 27:55 - Why Justin created Repertoire
• 33:25 - Repertoire's focus
• 38:50 - Justin advice for aspiring hospitality content creators

Send us a text

📲 Connect with D.J.
DJ's Email
Follow on LinkedIn

More 7shifts
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts
Subscribe to Food Runner, our Monthly Restaurant Newsletter
7shifts on YouTube
Follow us on TikTok
Read the 7shifts Blog

About Us
7shifts is a scheduling, payroll, and employee retention app designed to help restaurants thrive. With an easy-to-use app and industry-specific solutions, 7shifts saves time, reduces errors, and helps keep costs in check for more than 50,000 restaurants.