Hey Chef -
The One About Starting a Substack
Start a Substack - you’re going to read those words a lot over the next few minutes - should you decide to continue on to the end. As incentive to maybe do so, there are potentially valuable nuggets for anyone who’s had a niggling in their stomach to start writing at any point of their creative career and life.
If you are a current subscriber to The Luncheonette1 thank you, even though those words don’t begin to convey the appreciation I have for your support of this work. Some of you may know that in addition to receiving this publication in your inbox - Substack also has an app, with a product they call Notes - or as I refer to it: Glimmer Twitter ™️ (yes, this is a made up phrase I just slapped a trademark on 😎). And I’ll come back to why I call it that - but first, let’s get into the opportunities for creative restaurant folks to Start a Substack.
Something I’ve done since childhood is make up words and phrases - almost always rhyming and somewhat nonsensical. My still today friends from high school and I started doing this after seeing a product at the grocery store called Broccoli Woccoli - which often becomes the measuring stick to goofy phrases that actually stick.
Recipes largely dominate the Food & Drink Leaderboard on Substack - now easily found with the rapidly developing product of Tabs, on the app Homepage. And most of the recipes aren’t coming from Restaurants and Chefs - they are coming from a lot everyday folks2 who once got turned away from big publishers to eventually finding themselves on the New York Times Best Sellers list. Please know this is in no way an endorsement of being overly concerned with stats and chasing accolades3 - because both can be rife with problematic consumption, performance and greed. However, opportunity due to a lower barrier to entry into a more creative life is possible here - so Chefs, whether you want to write recipes or tell old industry stories (hint: 80s and 90s nostalgia is hot right now, y’all!) - Start a Substack.
And while recipes lead the charge - there are currently very few folks, relatively speaking, with a large representation from restaurants on this platform. I’m looking at you managers (emerging novelists), bartenders (developing authors), wine pros (budding travel journalist), restaurant owners (future writers). If you’ve worked in or have a deep understanding of working in restaurants - Start a Substack.
The platform allows you to practice writing, and whatever you may have expertise in now, you didn’t when starting in the business - writing is the same thing. You have to practice4. It also helps you learn how to somewhat self publish, and once you do - there’s opportunity to connect with publishing folks on Notes. Also, since we all know how expensive it is to be human these days, it doesn’t hurt that you can also monetize your work.
Bringing restaurant folks and their stories to Substack also has the opportunity to make the industry better. We need enormous, equitable and sustainable change across hospitality and the folks at the top aren’t always going to be accommodating in changing a system that has, mostly, served them well for decades. I understand the nuance and difficulty in bringing change to restaurants after spending half of my life in and around them - so I’m not calling anyone out, this is an ‘and’ situation.
However, we need to hear more from the middle class5 of the restaurant industry and those in similar classes servicing them - those working their way up, figuring it out6, scraping by, starting from scratch, trying something new and potentially carving a new path of thought leadership. Some will say that happens on other social media platforms, and there’s been plenty written on using those apps and you, the user, being the product, so one way or another you’re on their dime. Substack is different7, and if we can get more folks telling heartfelt stories from the source, rather than resharing thirty second reels from a third party that’s never had to miss a graduation, wedding or birthday of the people they love most - it has incredible potential to be the tipping point in strengthening the foundation of a Restaurant Renaissance.
Whew! That was a lot, so let’s switch gears and get back to why I call Substack Notes - Glimmer Twitter™️. As psychological diagnosing phrases are now in our everyday lexicon, for better or worse, due to the popularity of social media therapy speak - there is a larger collective understanding of the words: trigger and trauma.
Where the two t words were once used, quite easily - I now hesitate. Yes, it’s important that we have language to better understand our fellow humans, and make all ecosystems safer, healthier, and more equitable. AND those words are starting to feel overused, often times out of context. Language matters. So, that’s why I’ve been kind of pumped to see the word Glimmer start to show up online as well - it’s the opposite of a Trigger, and you can read more about it here.
Glimmers are the smell of a baking apple pie or a fall stew, simmering on the stove. Glimmers are a walk outside in the brisk air, in your soft and worn hoodie. Glimmers are unexpectedly hearing a favorite song on the radio. And Substack Notes are that in the social media landscape, hence the name: Glimmer Twitter ™️
It’s a safe-ish place, as far as the internet goes, to start writing and my Notes feed is full of writers, publishers, artists and so many music folks that are sharing insights and cheering one another on, at truly inspiring levels for this longtime Deadhead8. So basically - the exact opposite of Triggering Social Media. Yes, you still need to make sure you aren’t on Notes all day instead of adhering to the important artistic work in your life - waiting to be created, which brings up another important point. Simply because the barrier to entry is lower here, does not mean writing on Substack is easy. You still have to somewhat cohesively get thoughts out of your head and on to the screen, and if you want to get those things mentioned above - practice, eye balls, opportunities - you actually have to write. And sometimes, that is the hardest part. But an abundant, fulfilling life is potentially waiting on the other side of whatever creative act you haven’t started.
Once you do start writing - how you spend your time, speak to yourself, and read the work of other writers begins to change - because you have less time to doom scroll9, compare and fall into the FOMO traps that are keeping you from creating today.
Writing and acting on a craft which is living within, moves you from immobilization.
Change is funny that way - it also creates space for belief to try, making mistakes, and sometimes visibly floundering - while the internet tells you that it’s too late to start anything new because you’ve missed the window to squeeze every last dime out of something enjoyable.
Sure, encouraging restaurant folks to start writing on Substack in order to change the industry and coming up with phrases like Glimmer Twitter™️ may all sound a little woo-woo. Yet, given the current state of the world … couldn’t we all use a little more woo these days, because without it - there’s no woo-hoo10.
Couple of prompts to get the creative juices flowing on what to write about on Substack. Also, while this newsletter tapped into experiences around restaurants - any reader could apply this to their own field of expertise.
The Niggling: you’ve at one time, wanted to write something, anything - poems, novels, recipes, essays. Start a Substack.
The Expertise: y’all are smart about a lot of stuff.11 We all take for granted what we know, it’s probably why we judge people so harshly in this business (restaurant folks judge for sport! and I know we’re all working on being more curious these days). People don’t know what you know, find a way to share those smarts by doing what? Start a Substack.
The Portfolio: something else we take for granted in restaurants - the skills we learn are highly transferrable to many fields. Organization, Attention to Detail, Resiliency, Humor, Timing to name a few. So many creative folks, doing what you want to do, started in restaurants and writing here gives you space to showcase your work.
The Community: it’s pretty special over on Glimmer Twitter. Writing puts up your bat signal for a community to find you and vice versa. And if audio and video are more your thing, Substack is giving both of those genres a lot of weight in the algo right now - might have to call it Glimmer YouTube at some point, but that doesn’t rhyme and clearly won’t make the Broccoli Woccoli cut.
Go Start a Substack.
If you were a reader of On Cue - check out the name change here or on the About Page to learn more about what’s happening at The Luncheonette.
Yes, there are famous folks on the Leaderboard too - but that isn’t a reason not to write.
Publishers can drop you, accolades can be stripped. Praise is tricky that way, and invokes a reference I learned early in my serving days - live by the sword, die by the sword. What I’ve learned decades later, is another classic - the pen is mightier than t sword. So no matter how good it gets - remember to own your own voice.
Yes, we’re talking about Practice, in The Lasso Way, not the Iverson way - even though the latter is still funny today.
Class is something we are taught not to talk about anytime or any place, yet it determines so much of our life, either simply surviving or thriving.
If you own or operate a restaurant, here’s a reminder: very few businesses have it figured out, they might simply have more resources than you to test what does and doesn’t work - so don’t beat yourself up so much. You’re not alone - we’re all kind of figuring it out as we go.
While also understanding, everyone is trying to make money - but Substack feels like the least ick, with a lot of benefit for creatives.
It’s not if you like the Grateful Dead, but when - everyone finds their way there eventually.
A light reminder - if you aren’t paying for the product, you are the product.
Said in my best Homer Simpson voice.
Example: restaurant folks love knives - why isn’t there a Substack on knives from a bartender or sous chef? The philosophies on a sharp knife and what they mean to the work behind the bar or in the kitchen could easily be half a year’s worth - maybe more, of weekly posts. If this exists - link it out in the comments 😎
Yes to all of this 🙌