Roy Choi (born February 24, 1970)
is a
Korean-American
Korean Americans are Americans of Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian America ...
chef
A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a k ...
who gained prominence as the creator of the gourmet
Korean-Mexican taco truck
Kogi
Kogi State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti and Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, to the northeast by Nasarawa State, to the northwest by Niger State, to th ...
.
Choi is a chef who is celebrated for "food that isn't fancy" and is known as one of the founders of the gourmet
food truck
A food truck is a large motorized vehicle (such as a van) or trailer, equipped to cook, prepare, serve, and/or sell food. Some, including ice cream trucks, sell frozen or prepackaged food; others have on-board kitchens and prepare food from scrat ...
movement.
In 2019, Choi began presenting a cooking series on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
with
Jon Favreau
Jonathan Kolia Favreau (; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as '' Rudy'' (1993), '' PCU'' (1994), '' Swingers'' (1996), '' Very Bad Things'' (1998), '' Deep Impact'' (1998 ...
titled ''
The Chef Show''.
Early life
Choi was born in
Seoul, South Korea
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 o ...
, to South Korean father Soo Myung Choi and North Korean mother Jai Nam Choi.
Choi's parents met in the US but after marrying moved back to Korea. The family ended up emigrating from South Korea permanently in 1972.
Choi was raised in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
and Southern California. As Choi grew up, his parents had many businesses: a liquor store, dry-cleaning shop, a Korean restaurant, and after selling jewelry door to door, finally a successful jewelry company.
His parents owned a Korean restaurant called Silver Garden in Anaheim, California
for three years when he was young. Choi's mother made
kimchi
''Kimchi'' (; ko, 김치, gimchi, ), is a traditional Korean side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, such as napa cabbage and Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings are used, including '' gochugaru'' (Korean chili powder), ...
that was so popular within their community that they packaged it and sold it locally.
His favorite childhood memory is making dumplings at the age of eight at his family's own restaurant.
[ His family moved many times while he was young.]
His family once lived near Olympic Boulevard and Vermont Avenue, as well as in South Central, the Crenshaw District and West Hollywood.
Choi attended a gifted-students program, but changed schools in his early teens when his parents achieved prosperity in the jewelry business and moved their family into a neighborhood in Orange County
Orange County most commonly refers to:
*Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Orange County may also refer to:
U.S. counties
*Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando
*Orange County, Indiana
*Orange County, New ...
called Villa Park
Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway statio ...
, Choi began getting into trouble, with his marks slipping as he began taking drugs and hanging out with a different crowd. At age 15, Choi's parents sent him to Southern California Military Academy
Southern California Military Academy (SCMA) was a private, all male military academy from 1924 to 1987, for both daily and resident students, located in Signal Hill, California at the corner of Cherry Avenue and 21st Street, In greater Long Beach, ...
in Signal Hill, California
Signal Hill is a city in area in Los Angeles County, California. Located high on a hill, the city is an enclave completely surrounded by the city of Long Beach. Signal Hill was incorporated on April 22, 1924, roughly three years after oil w ...
. He remembers this as a positive experience.
After high school, Choi went to Korea and taught English there. He then attended California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...
, graduating with a bachelor's degree in philosophy. Choi attended Western State University law school, and dropped out after one semester. At 24, Choi said he became obsessed with Emeril Lagasse
Emeril John Lagassé III ( ; born October 15, 1959) is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, cookbook author, and National Best Recipe award winner for his "Turkey and Hot Sausage Chili" recipe in 2003. He is a regio ...
's "Essence of Emeril" show. The show inspired him to enroll in culinary school. "Emeril saved my life," Choi said.
In 1996, Choi began studying at the Culinary Institute of America
Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs ...
in Hyde Park, New York
Hyde Park is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States, bordering the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. Within the town are the hamlets of Hyde Park (CDP), New York, Hyde Park, East Park, Staatsburg, and Haviland, New York, Haviland. ...
. He enjoyed the highly structured block programs, where there was no "wiggle room." During his studies, he worked as an intern at three-Michelin-star restaurant Le Bernardin
Le Bernardin is a French seafood restaurant in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Gilbert Le Coze and his sister Maguy Le Coze started the restaurant in Paris in 1972, where it was called Les Moines de St. Bernardin. They restarted the restaur ...
, in New York City.
Career
Choi gained experience as a journeyman hotel chef, and in 2001, started working for Hilton Hotels
Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton.
The original company was founded by Conrad Hilton. As ...
. After being promoted within the company, Choi became chef de cuisine
A chef de cuisine (, French for ''head of kitchen'') or head chef is a chef that leads and manages the kitchen and chefs of a restaurant
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are genera ...
at the Beverly Hilton
The Beverly Hilton is a hotel located on an property at the intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards in Beverly Hills, California. The Beverly Hilton has hosted many awards shows, charity benefits, and entertainment and motion pic ...
in 2007. It was there that Choi met his future business partner, Mark Manguera. Choi also worked at the Embassy Suites
Embassy Suites by Hilton is a chain of upper upscale all-suite hotels trademarked by Hilton Worldwide. As of December 31, 2019, there are 257 locations in five countries and territories with 59,712 rooms. Similar to other Hilton brands, 212 Em ...
in Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
and the Rock Sugar Pan Asian Kitchen in Los Angeles.
After this classical training and years of background in four and five star cooking, Choi said that the shift to the food trucks, initially based on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
was great. Choi's company, Kogi, was founded in 2008 with partners Mark Manguera and his wife, Caroline Shin-Manguera.
He was named one of the top ten "Best New Chefs" of 2010 by '' Food and Wine'' magazine, and is the first food truck operator to win that distinction.[ Choi currently runs Sunny Spot, in Venice, CA, which is Caribbean-inspired. He ran the Los Angeles-area restauran]
Chego!
which featured rice bowls, an
A-Frame
which conveyed the Hawaiian idea of aloha and was built in a former IHOP, in addition t
Pot
ref name=LATimes-Pot-2014> at the Line Hotel in Koreatown
A Koreatown ( Korean: 코리아타운), also known as a Little Korea or Little Seoul, is a Korean-dominated ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area outside the Korean Peninsula.
History
Koreatowns as an East Asian ethnic enclave hav ...
.[ In December, 2018, Choi opened a restaurant named Best Friend in Las Vegas, NV. His cooking style fuses Mexican and Korean flavors and dishes.]
In June 2013, Choi along with fellow chefs Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Johannes Puck (born July 8, 1949) is an Austrian-American chef and restaurateur.
Early life and career
Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria. He learned cooking from his mother, who was a pastry chef. He took the surname of ...
and David Chang
David Chang ( Korean: ; born August 5, 1977) is an American restaurateur, author, podcaster, and television personality. He is the founder of the Momofuku restaurant group. In 2009, Momofuku Ko was awarded two Michelin stars, which the resta ...
, convened at the Hotel Bel-Air to fuse different styles such as ggaejjang style and kochujang onto the Hotel Bel-Air
The Hotel Bel-Air is a boutique hotel located in Bel-Air, Los Angeles, California. The hotel is one of the nine luxury hotels operated by the Dorchester Collection, which is owned by the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA). The hotel has a total of 1 ...
menu.
In November 2013, Choi released his autobiography that is part memoir part cookbook called ''L.A. Son: My Life, My City, My Food''.
Choi said he didn't start out to write a book, but that he kept getting asked the same questions about his food, its flavors, and how it is prepared. While Choi doesn't see the book as social commentary, he felt it was important to show the "real deal" of the duality he felt growing up as an immigrant in the 1970s; the foods served in the restaurant were quite different from what the family ate at home. The book also talks about the culture of Los Angeles and how it has changed since the 1970s.
The Jon Favreau
Jonathan Kolia Favreau (; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as '' Rudy'' (1993), '' PCU'' (1994), '' Swingers'' (1996), '' Very Bad Things'' (1998), '' Deep Impact'' (1998 ...
movie ''Chef
A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a k ...
'' (2014) was loosely inspired by Choi and the food truck movement. Choi worked as a technical advisor to Favreau on cooking and restaurant scenes and appears in the end credits. In addition to touring all of Choi's restaurants, Favreau attended a French culinary school and trained in several of Choi's kitchens. In 2019, Favreau and Choi collaborated on a cooking show on Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
: '' The Chef Show''.
''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...
'' had included Choi in their TIME 100 list of the most influential people in the world for 2011 and 2016. Fellow chef and author Anthony Bourdain wrote that "Roy Choi first changed the world when he elevated the food-truck concept from "roach coach" to highly sought-after, ultra-hot-yet-democratic rolling restaurant." In 2015, Choi and chef Daniel Patterson opened a restaurant called LocoL in Watts
Watts is plural for ''watt'', the unit of power.
Watts may also refer to:
People
* Watts (surname), list of people with the surname Watts Fictional characters
*Watts, main character in the film '' Some Kind of Wonderful''
* Watts family, six cha ...
, Los Angeles, with the goal of bringing quality, healthy, and inspired fast-food to inner-city neighborhoods.
In 2019, Choi produced and hosted a TV series, ''Broken Bread'' on Tastemade
Tastemade, Inc. a video network that offers food- and travel-related programming for online audiences.Spangler, TodYouTube Network Tastemade Raises $25 Million Led by Scripps, Liberty Media''Variety''. September 15, 2016.Spangler, TodApple TV Adds ...
and KCET
KCET (channel 28) is a secondary PBS member television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the Public Media Group of Southern California alongside the market's primary PBS member, Huntington Beach–licensed KOC ...
in Los Angeles.
Personal life
Choi goes by the nicknames "Papi" and "El Guapo."
He teaches cooking when he volunteers at A Place Called Home in South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown.
It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as ...
.
Choi is a supporter of 3 Worlds Cafe, a South Central community coffee and smoothie shop that is a collaboration between Choi, the neighborhood-based Coalition for Responsible Community Development, fruit conglomerate Dole Packaged Foods and nearby Jefferson High School
This is a list of memorials to Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd president of the United States and the author of the United States Declaration of Independence.
Buildings Elementary schools
*Jefferson Elementary School, in Cammack Village, Arkansas
*Thoma ...
.
He also maintains a blog on which he posts recipes and rants.
During his difficult teen years and later as a young adult, Choi said he had many addictions. He was addicted to crack for a short time, marijuana and gambling, which lasted three years in his early 20s. Choi says that his current addiction is feeding people.
Choi has a daughter.
Publications
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Roy
1970 births
American people of Korean descent
American businesspeople
American chefs
American male chefs
South Korean emigrants to the United States
Living people
Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park alumni
People from Seoul
Asian American chefs
Chefs from Los Angeles