I was watching TV and saw the 'Emeril' show, and it spoke to me. I went out and started researching the culinary world and chefs that I knew nothing about. Then I moved to New York and went to culinary school, and everything just fit like a glove. It's been on ever since.
— Roy Choi
Why can I cook for tourists that come and visit L.A. and are so excited to see the Kogi truck? Because I cooked at country clubs and Embassy Suites hotels.
Animals have been talking to me. And any shaman will say that that's not that weird.
Time is an illusion anyway. You can create as much time as you want.
Cooking is not a craft to get into for money. The money may come, or it may not. But you must get into it for the craft and the culture.
Pico Union is an underrated part of L.A., and not a lot of people go unless you live there.
As a young manager, I had no idea what it meant to be a chef.
I don't have many hobbies or talents other than cooking, but I've always been good at figuring out a city.
When I was around 25 years old, I lost everything and was a complete dirtbag.
Chefs have always been leaders, but now, because of social media and the evolution of the chef identity, we have a voice that expands beyond cooking.
There are certain foods that are somewhat sacred or you're not supposed to mess with. When you do mess with them, it touches a nerve where you have to compare it to the original, and then that thing you're creating has a loosing change right out of the gate.
My parents and friends, they're Ph.D.s that worked as custodians, that owned their own businesses, that went bankrupt, that moved seven times, that sent their kid to Harvard, that don't have any money for retirement. Highs and lows of life.
What was important for 'Broken Bread' to do was show real life.
I want to pay homage to Los Angeles.
I translate Hawaii as a place where people make sure I'm having a great time, eating terrific food, without any expectation of anything in return. It's a place for people to be happy. It sounds corny, but in Hawaii, it's not; it's uncorny.
There is something timeless and beautiful about cooking straight to camera.
At my lowest point, I found cooking.
I realized why I can cook for different environments. Because of everything I've gone through growing up. Why can I cook for a Hollywood event without blinking an eye? Because I cooked at the Beverly Hilton and because I moved to Villa Park. Why can I cook for kids on Hollywood Boulevard at night? Because I went through it.
I kind of feel for the vegetable world - the vegetarian world. It's almost as if people look at them like aliens or foreigners.
I know all about Orange County.
I grew up around food and in a restaurant, so it never dawned on me that this was a thing to do; it just was. Then I found it as a profession in my mid-twenties after years of bad decisions and depression. The first step was going to the bookstore and learning about this craft. Then applying in kitchens and just getting to work.
I used to be a chef.
Myeong-dong in Seoul is an area that is crazy at night, just packed.
I wanted to be a topographer when I was young.
I like to go to a Korean salon.
I'm in a place where I feel comfortable not being a chef anymore. That's taboo in our industry. 'Chef' is supposed to be the ultimate end of the road.
The things that make Korean food delicious are garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili powder, and chili paste. They make anything delicious.
I'm not a get-off-my-lawn guy. I embrace the new generation.
I typically like Sicilian pizza.
I knew of the 'Gilmore Girls' - I wasn't a rabid fan, but I watched it sporadically when it was first on.
I really think I cook good Korean food. I really do, just straight up.
I grew up on Julia Child, Paul Prudhomme, Sara Moulton - and obviously, Emeril's first show had a huge impact on my life.
Straight up, Oreos, sodas, chips, salsa dips, egg white omelets, yogurts, breads, ketchups, mustards, barbecue sauce, frozen pizzas, hot pockets, ice cream, all these things that you eat in your normal life - I think if chefs got more involved in that, then it could be better. Because we're the ones that know flavor.
Oh yeah, the 'Chef' movie was awesome.
I don't really have a strategy for social media. I think that's my strategy is that I don't have a strategy.
I went to high school in Orange County.
I don't go for average.
I make milkshakes at home, but the two best are at at Gulfstream and Disney's Soda Fountain on Hollywood Boulevard.
When you have parents that come from a country that you weren't raised in, you feel this weird sense of familiarity, like you've returned to something.
Only if you're from L.A. do you know Elysian Park.
With public television, they're making things that aren't driven by advertisers. They're one of the only platforms where we can really mine for truth.
I have a fun side and a serious side.
Food trucks are an essential part of people's days. They are important to the fabric of feeding people, like hotel chefs cooking breakfasts or for weddings.
A lot of times in television, you don't get the opportunity to show real life because we're brainwashed to believe the propaganda that these things aren't marketable, that these things don't sell.
Cooking is one of the most zen things - you have to be there.
When you come out of the ocean after surfing all day, loco moco is the best thing you ever tasted.
I know a lot of artists and chefs don't talk about this, but sometimes you just don't get to the finish line. That honesty and tenderness is something we're kind of not supposed to express.
I've always wanted a straight-up cooking show since I was a child.
