The Repertoire Podcast
Your Repertoire is the most valuable asset in your career. It's the collection of skills, stories, experiences, and lessons you've had to hard-earn in this hospitality industry. What if you could ask some of the best professionals in the world how they built their Repertoire? In this podcast, you can look forward to expert-led interviews by Chef Justin Khanna, breakdowns of news and stories that are impacting the industry, and the occasional bonus episode that might include a tactic or strategy that drastically improves your life. Subscribe for weekly episodes of The Repertoire Podcast.
Episodes
In this episode, we dive into the Uncrustables lawsuit against Trader Joe’s and what it signals for the future of food product development, intellectual property, and the battle between CPG giants and private labels. As Smucker’s defends its iconic crustless sandwich, we explore how legal strategies are becoming a new line of defense in a fiercely competitive grocery landscape.We also cover the biggest food and beverage headlines s...
In this episode, Ray breaks down the recent AWS outage and the devastating impact it had on restaurants. He discusses the Trump administration's proposal on beef imports from Argentina and the fight over Prop 12 in the upcoming farm bill. Ray also covers Nestle's announcement of 16k job cuts, the rally in Beyond Meat's stock, and a new cookbook utilizing recipes from gravestones.
In this episode, Ray and Justin dive into the recent viral video by More Perfect Union, discussing how Sysco has become the largest food distributor in the country, and how this may affect the similarity of flavors amongst restaurants. Their answers may surprise you, especially when it comes to Sysco's perceived reach. Justin shares about social media users wanting more in-person experience and the decline of online usage from ...
In this weekly report: Tyson Foods has settled a record-breaking lawsuit, in which it was accused of conspiring with other pork producers to fix prices. The government shutdown may have effects on the food industry, EJ Lagasse gets 3 stars in the NY Times, and Amazon is creating its own grocery brand for low-cost consumers.Ray breaks down the recent Restaurant Performance Index, and shares some lessons he found from a chef with 30 ...
In this episode, Justin breaks down the recent collaboration between Airbnb and Chef's Table and how utilizing Airbnb events could be a major win for chefs. He also discusses the Food & Wine awards, the impact of LLMs on restaurant recommendations, a new book he's interested in, and more. Ray discusses the coming matcha shortage, some consumer data from the National Restaurant Association, and a key restaurant that is o...
In this episode, Ray breaks down a New York Times Article, sharing how sushi has become a dietary commodity. He discusses Starbucks' massive layoff announcement, the cut to a USDA hunger report, why Americans are not eating breakfast, and offers advice to a Reddit user leaving the restaurant industry.
In this episode, Ray breaks down how close to 10% of Americans are using Ozempic, and how this is affecting restaurants. He also breaks down the real reason behind Tesla creating a diner, and how the Pumpkin Spice Latte crushed expectations for Starbucks. He discusses the reporting mistakes made by Beyond Meat, breaks down how restaurants performed in July, examines a major food company breakup, and shares his thoughts on a new bev...
In this episode, Justin breaks down how Chefs are now making $100,000 more than ever before and why this trend is a major positive for the industry. He also shares reporting from the LA Times on a new restaurant transitioning from fine dining to casual, a restaurant closure in Washington, D.C., and a Business Insider piece on a Michelin-starred restaurant managing finances during this challenging time.Ray shares about a restaurant ...
In this episode, Ray discusses an article by Chef Nick Curtin of Alouette. He discusses Chef's view on how foraging has impacted the food system of Denmark, and what we can take away from this impact. Ray then discusses how the Federal Takeover of D.C. has destroyed restaurant reservations. He then looks at how fast casual restaurants are not doing well, how honey is taking over consumer diets, and why AI displacements mean mor...
Eleven Madison Park has decided that meat is back on the menu. Ray and Justin break down why they made this decision, the response from the food world to it, and much more. They also discuss how a Michelin-rated ice cream shop in Taiwan is a litmus test for the upcoming Michelin Guide release, the horrible story of a restaurant being stripped of its Michelin Stars due to the chef being arrested on an alleged assault charge, and muc...
Joshua Weissman is facing a mountain of criticism for alleged poor behavior, plagiarism, and more. Justin and Ray break down the reporting on Joshua Weissman and warn of the lessons learned in the pattern of alleged behavior that has been reported on by one of YouTube's largest food content creators.Ray breaks down Uber's new AI investment, the latest news on beef and poultry pricing, and how agentic AI is being utilized by...
In this episode of the Repertoire Report, Ray starts by discussing the tragic passing of Anne Burrell, emphasizing the importance of mental health awareness in the food industry. He shares personal experiences with mental health struggles in the restaurant industry and stresses the significance of checking in on each other. The second part of the episode addresses the current financial crisis at Johnson and Wales University, analyz...
Links:
Higher Starting Costs: https://www.foodandwine.com/restaurant-opening-costs-increase-post-pandemic-11776163
YouTube: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-21/how-youtube-is-shaping-a-new-generation-of-chefs
Travis Kalanick on All In, Discussing Lab Robotics: https://youtu.be/KypnjJSKi4o?si=toidvBcjlt3QF1wp
Pipedream: https://x.com/thegarrettscott/status/1944801083177505235
Nuance In The Gloom: https://x.com/a_food_mani...
Links:
Eater: https://www.eater.com/food-culture/893018/jose-andres-chef-humanitariancomic-book-hero
Food Dive 1: https://www.fooddive.com/news/us-ice-cream-makers-commit-to-artificial-dye-phase-out-by-2028/753065/
Food Dive 2: https://www.fooddive.com/news/tariffs-meat-drive-inflation-conagra-cfo-says/752918/
Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-09/chocolate-makers-burned-again-as-shortages-hit-cocoa-powder?s...
Links:
QSR: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/story/why-back-of-house-clarity-for-restaurants-is-key-to-navigating-an-uncertain-economy/
Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-07/starbucks-menu-news-chain-wants-to-get-rid-of-canola-oil-in-its-food?srnd=phx-industries-consumer
Red Lobster: https://www.campaignlive.com/article/popular-ceo-viral-seafood-boils-story-behind-red-lobsters-biz-comeback/1923541
Food Dive: http...
Links:
Nissin: https://www.fooddive.com/news/ramen-maker-nissin-launches-brand-to-attract-glp-1-users-health-conscious/751390/
Alinea: https://chicago.eater.com/closings/159756/fire-restaurant-closing-fulton-market-chicago-grant-achatz-alinea-group
Food Navigator: https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2025/07/01/glp-1s-food-industry-response/
Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-06-30/starbucks-beefs-up-hiring-pr...
inks: JBS: https://www.fooddive.com/news/jbs-sec-approves-listing-nyse-meat-beef/746270/ World's 50 Best: https://www.theworlds50best.com/ Daniel Patterson: https://www.instagram.com/chefdanielpatterson/?hl=en Reservation Charges: https://people.com/restaurant-charges-diners-with-more-or-fewer-people-than-their-reservation-11754617
Justin's Instagram: @justinkhanna
Follow The Repertoire Podcast on Instagram: @joinrepertoir...
National Restaurant Association: https://restaurant.org/research-and-media/research/restaurant-economic-insights/restaurant-performance-index/
Axios: https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2025/04/14/michelin-guide-dc-star-restaurants-virginia-declines
Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-06-10/whole-foods-supplier-hack-leaves-empty-shelves-stalls-forklifts?srnd=phx-industries
Food Dive: https://www.fooddive.c...
National Restaurant Association Reporting: https://restaurant.org/research-and-media/research/restaurant-economic-insights/analysis-commentary/restaurants-projected-to-add-490k-seasonal-jobs-this-summer/
Klarna: https://restaurant.org/research-and-media/research/restaurant-economic-insights/analysis-commentary/restaurants-projected-to-add-490k-seasonal-jobs-this-summer/
Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-05-27/...
Popular Podcasts
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com