EP 68: Ochi Latjuba Vongerichten

Welcome to Hospitality on the Rise, the podcast about the people shaping the hospitality industry and their journeys. I'm your host, Alice Chang, founder and CEO of Culinary Agents, hospitality's go-to hiring platform. And I'm here to give you your dose of virtual mentorship. Here, we'll be sharing the stories, lessons learned, and advice from hospitality leaders who've carved out their own path to success.

After all, this industry is where many get their start and go on to do incredible things. Whether you're a pro, starting out, or just love the hustle, this podcast highlights what makes hospitality extraordinary, the people. I'm so excited to have with us today Ochi Lechupa Mangaristen. Ochi is the co-owner of YN, which is an Indonesian cuisine with modern French flair, and Made, which is another restaurant in New York.

Are they both in New York? Yeah, they're both in New York. Actually, they're next to each other. Oh, okay.

That's why I was like, oh, wonderful. I'm like, did I miss an opening? Ochi, welcome. Thank you so much for joining us today.

Thank you, Alice, for having me. I'm so excited. And then, as you know, Culinary Agency is part of our life as a restaurant owner. Yes, yes.

Well, it's our pleasure and privilege, and it's been really wonderful to see how you've grown from opening to now. And we can't wait to hear all about it. So let's take us back. And how did you get into the hospitality industry?

Well, I grew up in a food and hospitality. My mother owned a catering business in Indonesia. At that time, it was just her and another catering business in Jakarta. but they cater weddings for 3,000 people and like huge, huge parties.

And then it's not only one day wedding, but it's like two, three days. So I've been around food for pretty much all my life. Yeah, at that time, did you have to jump in and help also? Not really, but I was my mother, like a food taster.

So I tasted all the food right before going out to the event. Quality control. Correct, correct. And I love that.

that's like the best job it is it is and so at that time were you kind of thinking of oh one day i want to own my own restaurant or is it just uh something so at the beginning no my original plan is to work with her so um she said in order so okay my background i went to culinary i'm sorry accounting and finance uh school in australia after after high school and then i decided i'm like I just, I don't like this. So I changed my career and I told my mom, I don't want to do this anymore.

I finished the associate degree and I want to do cooking. So as an Asian mom, they have like a standard in education. She wants me to finish the bachelor degree. I said, then I look, look where is cooking, I mean culinary school that offer a bachelor degree.

then I found Culinary Institute of America. That's where I went to learn how to cook and then experience internship at Daniel Restaurant in the catering side of Daniel Restaurant. And then we were two years for the management classes. And then finally I got my graduate degree and makes my parents happy.

But, you know, like destiny, I go in a different way. I met Cedric in sophomore year. And then we get married, have kids, and when we decide, all they say, okay, he's not continuing my mom's path. And the rest is history.

Well, you know, when you follow your passion, right? Yeah. You know, oftentimes other things kind of fall into place, right? Yeah.

And you're being modest in kind of how you progressed on those days because you're a co-owner of, you know, two restaurants and I'm sure your life is very, very busy with many things. So while you were doing your, you worked at Daniele, you said in the catering and then getting some experience in different restaurants in the New York area. When you were doing that, did you, like for somebody who is starting out and trying and graduating culinary school and trying to figure out what, where they want to work or what they want to do, do you have any advice for them?

And like, did you think about specifically where you wanted to work or what you wanted to learn? so when I used to when when I was in culinary school I know that I want to become a like a chef but you know sometimes like for me the back in the day when I was working at Danielle it was like required like long hours so I almost quit I was like I cried every day I was like I think this is back in the day nowadays you don't do that anymore everyone's half a life you know this is like 16 18 hours a day I'm like literally just slept at home for three four hours and then go back go back to work I was like telling my mother I want to I want to quit and she said no do not quit I mean you finish it so then after that you will see that it's very rewarding and then thank god I I listened to what she said and then I ended the internship I mean they gave me a good reference letter so it's it's very rewarding and um yeah and then but and then I learned two years management for a bachelor of the program and then that makes me want to think I want to learn different aspect of restaurant which is front of the house so uh at that time I was looking for a job after finished my college it's like okay uh first day was looking for a kitchen server, which is a runner.

So that was my first front of the house job. I think it's, it depends on the path where you're going and then you realize this is what you want to do. Yeah. But I glad I tried both because I think it very very good basic for me to understand back of the house and front of the house as a restaurant owner Yes Yes I was just going to say that you know nowadays we hear you know what skills are required to run a successful restaurant or business Right.

And it's not especially if if you're skilled and talented and back of house, that's half the battle. Right. And, you know, you need that. Right.

But then communication skills, leadership skills, understanding how to run the business side really kind of is the differentiator. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So good foresight on your.

So so once you switch to front of house and like you said, you already did back of house. So that's great perspective. And at least you have a good understanding of what's required and, you know, what that lifestyle is like. At this point, were you still, were you thinking, oh, one day I'm going to own my own restaurant or, you know, you're collecting your skills and experiences so you can have your own?

You know what? I never thought that I want to have a own restaurant, especially with Cedric, my husband and also business partner. You know, I was just, I was just like, just keep on going what I'm doing. And then, yeah, and then one day we met our business partner and he was like, let's do Indonesian restaurant.

I was like, oh, that's a good idea. Also, my mom back in the day also told me and said, you guys should open a restaurant, Indonesian restaurant. And then there's no Indonesian restaurant here in New York City. And then the flavor is not well known by people.

I think we should start introducing it. Yeah, which I'm glad right now. I mean, we opened YN seven years ago, and now we are in New York City, we have in Aspen, we have in Hamptons, and we also have in Miami. Yes.

And too many more. Yeah, congratulations on that growth. We're going to dissect that a little bit because, you know, you make it sound so easy, but we all know that, you know, A, each one of these openings has its own challenges. expansion into other cities is even more challenges on top of that um you know what when you opened your first uh when you opened YN what were can you remember one I'm sure there were many can you remember one like challenge that you had that was like you know I think every day is a challenge there I mean like like get the team together I mean like manage everything it's like it's I feel like everything is crumbled, especially it's our first restaurant.

We're not that as structured as corporate, but we're trying to make everything look seamless, like nice. And the most important is the hospitality. People doesn't know what's behind the back door. As long as when we just come to the restaurant, we smile, we greet them, we acknowledge if it's their birthday, their graduation, or any celebration, type of celebration.

So they want to be treated like specials, right? So that's why we have a restaurant. And then complement the great food. So I think, yeah.

Yeah, well, that's a skill in and of itself, right? Especially for first-time owners or any new project, any new restaurant, is making sure that nobody sees the stuff that you're still kind of fixing or building in parallel. Yeah. Yeah.

Because the guests are coming. They're interested in, you know, what you have to offer. They want to have a good time. They want to experience.

And, you know, especially nowadays, the hospitality part of it is so important. It's a big differentiator, especially in a city like New York or any of the cities that you mentioned where, you know, there are exciting openings all the time. And there's so many options. And now more than ever, there's different ways that people can kind of find out where they want to eat.

And their friend recommended this. And there's a review here. And it's almost overwhelming. Actually, that's a good point.

How do you stay true to kind of your vision and purpose of what you're introducing, you know, the type of food, the style, et cetera, when there's so much noise with, like, what people want, what they think? Yeah. that reviews, it happens, you know. But I think we have to be proud what we're offering to people.

And then we have to believe in our concept. I think that's number one. And stay consistency. I think that's very important.

Like not only consistency in what we offer in the food, but also the hospitality. I think it's very important. What was one of the biggest challenges when you opened your first location outside of Manhattan? The first location outside Manhattan in Aspen?

Oh, it's a different story. Aspen's a whole other country. Okay, so no. We opened in the Hamptons first before Aspen.

In the Hamptons, it's very different. I mean, people... That's another country too. Yeah, people like to be like extra temper.

so this is something that we we have to acknowledge and then we have to know like they come for more than two three times you have to acknowledge them by their names and then like and then of course like when they come a few times we cedric my husband who also my business partner again he he loves to give extra to to all those people so challenges i think you just have to remain consistent. If you, if you remain consistent, I think both challenges is like a daily problem that you fix.

That's a good problem to have too, if you have repeat customers, right? Yeah. You know, it's, and that's, I mean, it's like, it's, it's a self-fulfilling kind of like a cycle where, you know, the repeat customers continue to be repeat customers because you're acknowledging them and you're giving them the hospitality that they expect and they like that. So the power of hospitality, right?

Yeah. But I saw, I'm just telling you, I think that's, that's, I learned from, from the past because I mean, per se, it was my first job as a fan of the house. And then I, I think for like, for, I mean, their philosophy is like, it shaped me to who I am right now, because I think I learned from the sense of urgency, like, even though how busy we are, we always have to stay calm. And then we just have to you know like be meticulous like like cause it like it very high standard there And then and now I am today and I have a standard also for my for the restaurants Yeah.

And that's a, that's a really important thing to highlight also is, you know, where you choose to work and learn from, you know, is really important too. Because it will shape and inform you when you develop your own style, right? Even if you don't open your own restaurant. Right.

And that's, you know, that's something, especially nowadays. And you mentioned earlier, you know, you know, how things kind of used to be done a little bit. Things have changed. Things have evolved.

This industry continues to evolve. I mean, Culinary Agents is 14 years old. So I very much remember, you know, some of the challenges that, quite frankly, I started the company because one of my close friends who graduated from the CIA was, you know, juggling these hours and trying to make a name for himself and trying to, you know, do side hustles. And I was like, you need better tools, right?

Yeah, exactly. Well, thank you for that because Culinary Agent is like helping me. I mean, right now, like we are using for our current restaurant in New York City and the Hamptons and also the one in Miami, we use Culinary Agent. So it's very, very helpful.

We found those amazing teams who helped me, you know, to help me this restaurant growth. Oh, I love it. Thank you so much for that feedback. And we're going to follow up and make sure that you get some extra bells and whistles too.

See, like this hospitality cycle, right? Yeah. So, you know, you're opening kind of different locations. Are you also thinking about other projects?

yeah but we actually like we're working on our uh cookbook so hopefully will be launched February 20 I'm sorry fall 2027 and another side work that we're doing our Indonesian hot sauce that's still always work in progress but it's a lot of R&D for that one so yeah and then continue growth for Wayan and hopefully the other third concept that we can find the right space we can open that too you know there's always dream so keep on dreaming and then keep on going if you don't dream I mean how do you expect it to happen right I know exactly I always call it like um my husband jokes around he's like oh you're just gonna will it to happen right and I'm like yeah because if I don't like you know say it out loud or try to do something then I'm the only one to blame.

Yeah, exactly. But, um, uh, yeah, I always say like, whatever works for you, like everyone, you know, as they're, as they're, um, going through their career journey, whatever it may be, um, you know, uh, I think I always, I get asked oftentimes, um, as people are kind of reaching different parts of their career for, for advice. And I always say, you have to ask yourself the hard questions and you have to be honest with yourself. Um, because people's priorities change, um people's goals change you know and and what you might have started out with certain you know I'm going to open my first restaurant by the time I'm 25 or 30 or whatever and then you're into it and life changes and things change you're like well I don't know if I want that anymore it's okay yeah the plan is no plan but you always have to dream yeah exactly exactly and so um for um uh for someone you know you're making it sound easier you're like oh you open here and then you have different projects.

Do you have any hints and tips as you're considering doing another project? Do you have a certain way that you go about it or think about it? Are you and Cedric agree to do something together or brainstorm ideas, etc.? Do you seek out the opportunity or is it a combination of somebody comes to you and says hey, I have this space or opportunity?

We do both. We do both. People reach out to us. I look for, I listen to Because I always touch tables when I'm in the restaurant.

And then I listen to what the customer wants. Where should we go next? And then they give me an idea. Let's say, for example, Palm Beach or Texas.

So then I'm looking or get reached out by local people there. And then I brainstorm with Cedric. If this is the right place or this is the... We've always been from...

I mean, every relationship, we bring from everything, from restaurants, from kids' activities, from our vacations, from anything. Yeah. Well, I find it more often than not, especially in hospitality, where people's personal lives and their business, their professional lives will kind of blend together. Right.

Especially if you're an owner with, you know, your owner-operator. Exactly. And you have kids. So how do you find balance, right?

Because you're both in the business. So... My God, I'm still figuring out every day. Like, you know, I was like, so come here like rushing everything like late, like, okay, I try to be as balanced as possible.

You know, my oldest one is in academy soccer. So we have like our weekend basically is back to back driving early in the morning just to watch his soccer games. The travel, everyone, because it's the travel. and then my second son is in track and field and then he's like he's going to championships so we just try to juggle um as just one of us is available to come and see i mean yeah and then when the kids have a holiday then we just take holiday too so then that way we can we can be together because as you know our time in the restaurant is like we spend so much time here in the restaurant.

So then we try to balance, but balancing is not easy. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, I asked that question for a couple of reasons.

One, the thing that I'm seeing as part of the industry evolution over the years is that more and more people are having families. And I think that is a great indicator of, you know, overall how the industry and individuals who work here, the leaders evolve and kind of find a different way to be able to continue doing what they enjoy from a work standpoint while also not having to sacrifice everything else, right? And the more we show and share examples of leaders such as yourself who are running businesses working on multiple projects and are able to continue to work to find this balance and share it and just be real about it I think the more that encourages and inspires people to you know continue to find that balance as well.

Because back in the day, you know, when you wanted to start a family, I feel like a lot of people couldn't see how they could continue to work in the industry at the same capacity while starting a family. So I think a lot of people made decisions based upon different priorities. But not only that, the reason why me and Sadek are able to be balanced a little bit with the family is because we have a great team. So the great team we found from Kalina.

There you go. Right? So then we can be balanced because we try to be balanced so then we give like We're not grumpy to go to work. We're sharing, like, you know, we have to have a great attitude.

When we enter the restaurant, we cannot be like, oh, I'm so tired because of my kids. I'm so tired because of the restaurant, this and that. There's always a problem. So we cannot, we have to show happiness to them.

If not, then it's lit by example. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And thank you for that. I was going to say, you know, do you have any hints and tips on what do you look for when you are looking for leaders and team members to represent you and your family, essentially like what you're doing?

I think work ethics, if people have a good work ethics, I think. And then we like that as leaders, like to learn just like for us, like every day is always different. So we always tell them like, okay, we have to change this. So it's like more like...

Flexible, adaptive. Yeah, adaptive. Yeah, exactly. especially where mom and dad, there is no structure.

There is structure, but there is no, you know, we always have to fix problems here. Think outside the box. That's what I'm trying to say. Be a problem solver.

It's just, you know, just like what you said before, whether it's the first day of opening and you're trying to like, you know, put a smile on and still, you know, fix while you're still, while you're serving, that never really goes away, right? Because there's always something. and I think that really is the art form, right? Both front and back of house because when people are not happy in the back of house either, you can tell with the food, right?

I know, yeah, exactly, exactly. You have to make them happy, yeah, not only the front, correct. Well, and as you continue to grow, as you said, you like to touch tables. That becomes more and more difficult when you have multiple locations that are in different cities.

even just getting to the Hamptons and back into the city during the summer, like that, you know, in and of itself is like a long time. So you have to have people in the restaurants who are touching tables that represent you the way that you want. Yeah, the managers, yeah, they know how we want those people. And then like mostly we recognize all the regulars and then people's coming in and really enjoy it.

We like to talk to them. yeah like extra camper yeah so what keeps you inspired i think travel which inspired me you know like every time we travel with cedric anywhere we go on like for business trip or like vacation you're always like oh we should do this for but we said the indonation food or something so we always like just taste testing everything exactly so whatever then oh we should do like let's say i like this cocktail i'm like we should do this but we put like an indonation hint so that way it's like tied to the concept that's inspired me you know and then you know food is our love language so that's inspiring too so whatever that we eat we share that's it well well thank you certainly this the the story and and i've learned a bunch here as well it's it's very inspiring um in general and i i know i i smile because i think back of a lot of questions that i get like i i mentioned earlier um you know people reach a point in their um career and depending on where they are, I get introduced to them or somebody sends them to me and I ask them the same questions.

And I think one of the amazing things about this industry is that you can take what you learn and the skills and you can apply it to any other part of the industry that you want. Like now more than ever, you could start in a restaurant and then realize, okay, maybe I don't want to be in a restaurant. What else can I do in the industry? And there's so many different ways somebody can take that, take the skills and apply it somewhere else.

So thank you for sharing. But on that note, we're going to go to quick fire. What advice would you tell your younger self? Trust your timing.

Until now, I keep saying that to myself. Trust my timing because sometimes what you want, you cannot get it now, but it will get you later. So you can get it later. So we'll, you know, but keep on, I mean, working hard, I guess, and never quit.

What's your advice for someone struggling in the industry? Advice is just keep on going. think outside a box, think outside a box. Yeah, because it's existency.

It's existent, yeah. And what's your advice for fellow hospitality leaders? I think you just have to just do it like Nike. Just do it.

Just do it. I love it. On that note, thank you, Ochi, so much for taking time to share about your career journey. We're so excited to continue to support your growth and we cannot wait to see what's next.

Thank you. Thank you so much, Alice and Culinary Agents. We're so happy that we're part of your, you know, the journey that we get like, you know, part of our journey growing the restaurant. I love it.

Thank you. Remember, success looks different for everyone in hospitality. No two paths are the same. If you have a leader or a topic you want to hear about, email media at culinaryagents.

com. Hospitality on the Rise is brought to you by Culinary Agents, connecting top talent with employers since 2012. whether you're hiring or looking for your next opportunity join us at culinaryagents.com for more inspiration subscribe to hospitality on the rise and visit hospitalitycareerpaths.

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