Overcoming and learning from every technological advancement and new trend in the entertainment industry, The Kitchen has continually expanded its footprint and capabilities over the past two decades, growing from a small, Miami-based localization facility, to one of the leading language customization companies in the world today.
This May 5th marks 24 years since Ken Lorber launched The Kitchen in Miami, Florida, back in 2001. Through hard work and a growing reputation, what started as a localization facility quickly expanded through the Latin American market, offering dubbing services in English, Neutral Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese for major networks, studios, and other key players in the entertainment industry.
And things only escalated from there. Soon after, The Kitchen created and developed the industry’s first end-to-end language localization software, granting them a privileged position, and even led to winning not one, but two Primetime Emmy Awards.
Fast-forward to today, The Kitchen has undergone a global expansion and is now present in over a dozen territories, with its own European language hub in Madrid and an International Sales office in London joining their headquarters in Miami, giving it the ability to work with clients 24/7 and around the world.
This major achievement was only possible thanks to the commitment from everyone at The Kitchen to constantly evolve alongside the industry and continue learning, through technological breakthroughs, new trends in content production and distribution, and more recently the streaming revolution.
“It is always about the people”, said Ken Lorber, president and CEO of The Kitchen, who spoke to ttvnews about everything he’s learned over the past 24 years working at one of the leading language customization companies in the world, his current outlook on the content industry and The Kitchen’s place in it, and how the company is already preparing for what the future has in store.
First of all, congratulations on your anniversary! A lot has changed in the dubbing industry over the past 24 years, from technological advances to the internationalization of content and much more. What changes would you say have impacted the business the most over the years? And how has The Kitchen adapted to each new phase?
Every year, every new industry advancement, every new format of delivery will bring new challenges. The key is to be ready for it, even the eventuality of natural disasters. Be ready for it all is our motto! When Covid hit, our team developed a sophisticated home recording system for talent that was affordable, almost overnight. When clients demanded a one-stop shop for all languages, we introduced our Global Language Network and now work to and from all languages. When TPN was introduced, The Kitchen adapted and picked up the respected TPN Gold Badge. And of course, when we began our journey 24 years ago, we were the recipients of two Prime Time Emmys for the creation of the industry’s first end-to-end language software system. We went from analog to digital, shipping and receiving boxes of videotapes via FedEx and crossing our fingers that they wouldn’t be lost in transit, to instantaneous, secured delivery systems.
What’s your current outlook on the content dubbing industry and how is it different from what it was when you first started all those years ago?
When I first started attending industry trade shows, “international” meant “available in Spanish” or English language versions of Sci Fi movies…. today, selling internationally means that the content is available in virtually any language. What was poorly dubbed and accepted by audiences when the industry first began, would never be accepted today. Audiences are more sophisticated. Audiences demand more. Fan sites will belittle any dub job that is poorly cast, where the translation doesn’t make sense, or the lip sync is off.
Today’s audience is sophisticated and demanding. Today’s audience is picky and has a plethora of content to choose from. Whether the content is for pre-schoolers or Harvard grads, how the material is presented is key to its success.
What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned working at The Kitchen? What advice would you give someone who’s just starting in this business?
It is always about the people. Find good people. Make them happy to come to work. Have fun. Have respect. Form a team. It’s not as much about the graduate degree as it is about the passion, the willingness to learn and do whatever it takes, never say “no”, but always come up with a way to make it work. Show enthusiasm. Go the extra step. Keep learning. Don’t ever stop learning.
With content premiering on platforms that are accessible worldwide, dubbing has never been as important as it is today. Through multiple international hubs and employees based in key locations, how does The Kitchen stand as a key partner for content creators and providers?
As a global language service provider, we must be global. We must be present. We must make ourselves available 24/7. We must be flexible. Our teams are based throughout the continents, yet we work as one fully-integrated team. From Operations to Accounting, Translation to Production, we are unified as Team Kitchen.
We’ve spoken about the past and the present, now let’s look towards the future. How do you see The Kitchen evolving over the next few years and how are you adapting to new technologies such as AI?
Three years ago, our Technical and Engineering teams began to integrate AI into our daily workflow systems, for caption creation and machine translation of subs and captions. We’ve integrated AI localization tools with other standard industry automation platforms, like OOONA and Voice Q and have totally reinvented our internal workflows.
This month, we went a step further, and have added Josh Pine, previously COO of XL8, to our team as CFO. Josh’s global knowledge and reach into the world of AI today and his understanding of where it is headed, will undoubtedly keep The Kitchen in the forefront of the industry.
AI is entering the established industry in much the same manner that videotape was first introduced in the 70’s. My partner, Deeny Kaplan, and I, had the privilege of being in the forefront of the introduction of video to a steadfast film world back then…. Video wasn’t accepted overnight, but eventually and quicker than most thought it would, it became THE industry standard. We are witnessing the same reluctance to AI today and we do anticipate its global acceptance to become a reality even quicker.
So, where do we go from here?
24 years have gone by so fast. My own background as a videotape pioneer, working with quad tape, 1” tape, ½, ¾ inch and Beta, has led me to the realization that history is important. Having the understanding of where we were as an industry and where we are going is knowledge that I try to share with the newbies that come to work at The Kitchen. This business did not begin yesterday and it will not end tomorrow. Realizing the work and stamina that it has taken to get where we are as an industry in the year 2025, should serve as a strong guideline to where we will be in the future.
