Help Us Release Humble Kitchen Next Week

A time-sensitive ask to help us share an urgent story from Minneapolis.

Hola Amigos,

I’m sending a quick, direct note with a time-sensitive ask.

Last year we produced our first full-length project: a 4-episode documentary series called Humble Kitchen. It’s a story about immigrant chefs who came to this country with culture, belief, discipline, and ambition — but also the full reality of what it means to build a life here while carrying everything that comes with being an immigrant in America.

We made it because we believed these stories would be relevant.

I didn’t realize how relevant they were going to become.

I’m writing because we want to release our first episode as early as next week, instead of waiting until May (when our platform officially launches). The episode we’re trying to put into the world right now is the story of Chef Gustavo Romero.

Some of you will recognize the last name; Gustavo is a cousin of our former chef and co-owner, the late Lauro Romero. Same small town. Same passion for their heritage. And in a strange parallel, Gustavo started his restaurant journey around the same time we did with República in 2020: something that wasn’t meant to become what it became… and then it did.

His story is remarkable on its own. But what’s happening around him makes it urgent.

If you’ve been following what’s unfolding in Minneapolis, you know this isn’t just “politics.” It’s fear showing up in daily life. It’s businesses wondering whether enforcement will appear at any moment. It’s people being followed from work to home, and home to work. And layered on top of that: January, brutal cold, Dry January, instability, and a city under pressure.

All we’re trying to do as business owners is find a way to keep going — and to find joy where we can.

Yesterday, I felt a flash of that joy: Gustavo and his wife, Chef Kate Romero, were nominated for Best Chef: Midwest by the James Beard Foundation. I know what that feels like. It’s one of the greatest calls you can get.

But when I called to congratulate them, we didn’t talk about celebration for long. We talked about survival. The real question became: Are we going to make it to June? Are we going to be open? Are we going to be able to keep our people employed?

That’s where you can help.

We have this powerful episode — and we believe right now is the moment to share it. But to do it right, we need to finish the final touches in post-production and bring on a local Minneapolis PR team to help us place the story properly, connect it to the right outlets, and give it the push it deserves.

We didn’t budget for an early release. So we’re hoping you can help us raise $12,000 to get this across the finish line.

Here are a few ways to support:

• Become a yearly subscriber ($80)

• Contribute directly in any amount

• If you’re someone who can cover a third or half, please reach out — I’d be proud to list you as a producer, because that’s what you’d be: someone helping bring this work to life.

• As a yearly subscriber, you would receive access to all of the content we will be releasing for the year.

I’m going to share a clip below — just the opening 3 minutes of the 45 minute episode.
I genuinely believe it’s special.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for considering this ask. If we can pull this together, we can put the episode into the world next week, when it can actually meet the moment we’re living in.

Con toda mi gratitud,

Angel
TODOS Media