Building skills beyond the kitchen with Justin Khanna | 060 Artwork

The Pre-Shift

Great teams make great restaurants. On The Pre-Shift, restaurant operators and industry experts dive into what it takes to build great restaurant teams. We explore their stories, the strategies they use, and valuable lessons on running restaurant teams. Hosted by D. J. Costantino. Presented by 7shifts.

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The Pre-Shift

Building skills beyond the kitchen with Justin Khanna | 060

April 15, 2025

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

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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.