Roy Choi is the Korean-American chef and restaurateur behind Kogi BBQ, the Los Angeles food-truck operation that launched the Korean-Mexican taco movement in 2008 and is widely credited as the origin point of the modern food-truck era in American dining. Born 9 February 1970 in Seoul, South Korea, Choi emigrated with his family to the United States at age two and grew up in Los Angeles. He trained at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York (graduated 1998) before working in hotel kitchens including Le Bernardin and the Beverly Hilton.
His April 2025 cookbook The Choi of Cooking marked the largest publication of his career, and he keynoted the 2026 Bar and Restaurant Expo in Las Vegas in March 2026. Kogi BBQ trucks continue to operate a rotating schedule across Los Angeles in 2026, and his portfolio also includes Best Friend at Park MGM Las Vegas (Korean-American), The Chef Truck at Park MGM, and LocoL, his affordable-healthy-food social-impact venture. Choi’s 2013 memoir L.A. Son, the 2018 Netflix series Broken Bread, and the 2014 film Chef (on which he served as culinary advisor to Jon Favreau) have extended his public voice beyond restaurant work.
TL;DR
- Korean-American chef born 9 February 1970 in Seoul; raised in Los Angeles
- Trained at The Culinary Institute of America (graduated 1998)
- Co-founded Kogi BBQ in November 2008; launched Korean-Mexican taco movement
- April 2025: The Choi of Cooking cookbook published
- March 2026: Keynotes Bar and Restaurant Expo in Las Vegas
- Portfolio: Kogi BBQ trucks (LA); Best Friend + The Chef Truck (Park MGM Las Vegas); LocoL
Roy Choi key facts
| Born | 9 February 1970, Seoul, South Korea |
| Nationality | American (immigrated age two; raised in Los Angeles) |
| Defining venture | Kogi BBQ food-truck operation, Los Angeles (launched November 2008) |
| Training | The Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park (graduated 1998); Le Bernardin; Beverly Hilton; Embassy Suites |
| Restaurants | Kogi BBQ trucks; Best Friend (Park MGM Las Vegas); The Chef Truck (Park MGM); LocoL |
| Key books | L.A. Son (2013); Chef (2014 film, as culinary advisor); The Choi of Cooking (April 2025) |
| Media | Broken Bread on KCET and PBS (2018-present); The Chef Show co-host (Netflix, 2019) |
Early life and training of Roy Choi
Choi was born on 9 February 1970 in Seoul, South Korea, and emigrated with his parents to the United States at age two. His family lived briefly in Garden Grove before settling in Los Angeles, where his parents opened a liquor store, ran a restaurant, and at one point sold jewellery. Choi has written extensively in L.A. Son (2013) about the complicated experience of growing up Korean-American in 1970s and 1980s Los Angeles, including the rotation of family businesses, his parents’ marital difficulties, and his own struggles with gambling and drug use in his late teens and early twenties.
After dropping out of college and working a series of restaurant jobs, Choi enrolled at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, graduating in 1998. He then trained at Le Bernardin in Manhattan and returned to California to cook at the Beverly Hilton and other Los Angeles hotels through the early 2000s. By 2008 he was executive chef at the RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen in Century City before leaving the position in the middle of the year.
In November 2008, in the middle of the financial crisis, Choi co-founded Kogi BBQ with Mark Manguera and Caroline Shin. The operation was a single rented taco truck serving short rib and spicy pork tacos with Korean-Mexican salsas on handmade tortillas. Kogi used Twitter from the outset to announce truck locations, and the combination of the cheap-and-delicious food, the late-night mobile format, and the real-time Twitter announcements made the truck a Los Angeles phenomenon within three months. By mid-2009 Kogi operated multiple trucks and was the subject of national food-media coverage.
Roy Choi career timeline
- 9 February 1970: Born in Seoul, South Korea
- 1972: Family emigrates to the United States; settles in Los Angeles
- Late 1980s-1990s: Drops out of college; works restaurant jobs; struggles with gambling and drug use
- 1996-1998: Attends The Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park
- 1998: Graduates from CIA
- Late 1990s-2000s: Trains at Le Bernardin (NYC); Beverly Hilton; Embassy Suites; other LA hotels
- Early 2008: Executive chef at RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen, Century City
- November 2008: Co-founds Kogi BBQ with Mark Manguera and Caroline Shin; launches Korean-Mexican taco movement
- 2009: Kogi becomes national food-media phenomenon; Food and Wine Best New Chef
- 2010: Opens A-Frame in Culver City
- 2012: Opens Chego in Koreatown
- 2013: Publishes L.A. Son memoir (co-written with Tien Nguyen and Natasha Phan)
- 2014: Serves as culinary advisor on Jon Favreau’s film Chef
- 2015: Co-founds LocoL in Watts (Los Angeles) with Daniel Patterson, providing affordable healthy food in underserved neighborhoods
- 2018: Broken Bread premieres on KCET and PBS (ongoing as of 2026)
- 2018: Opens Best Friend at Park MGM, Las Vegas
- 2019: The Chef Show launches on Netflix, co-hosted with Jon Favreau
- 2020: The Chef Truck opens at Park MGM, Las Vegas
- 2020-2024: Multiple LocoL closures due to pandemic and funding challenges
- April 2025: The Choi of Cooking cookbook published
- December 2025: The Roy Choi Origin Story documentary short from L.A. in a Minute releases on YouTube
- March 2026: Keynotes Bar and Restaurant Expo in Las Vegas
- 2026: Kogi BBQ trucks continue rotating LA schedule; Best Friend and The Chef Truck continue at Park MGM
Roy Choi signature style: Korean-Mexican street food and LA identity
Choi’s central argument is that Los Angeles street food, born out of the city’s Korean, Mexican, Salvadoran, Chinese and Japanese immigrant communities, is a distinct culinary category worthy of the same seriousness as any fine-dining tradition. Kogi BBQ in 2008 brought this argument to national visibility through the short-rib taco, the spicy-pork taco, the kimchi quesadilla, and the kimchi-bacon fried rice. The Korean-Mexican format was not new in Los Angeles home cooking, but Kogi was the first operation to present it publicly at street-food scale with a serious culinary intent.
The second defining element is the social-impact argument. LocoL, founded in 2015 with Daniel Patterson, was a deliberate attempt to provide affordable healthy food in underserved Los Angeles neighborhoods including Watts and the Tenderloin in San Francisco. The LocoL project faced significant operational and funding challenges and most locations have now closed, but the argument that fast-casual cooking can be both affordable and nutritious in low-income communities was one of the most visible chef-led social-impact projects of the 2010s. The LocoL debate continues to shape industry conversation about food access.
The third pillar is public writing and public voice. L.A. Son (2013) documented Choi’s Los Angeles upbringing, his addiction, his parents’ immigrant experience, and his culinary education in unusual first-person detail for a modern chef memoir. The approach parallels David Chang‘s Eat a Peach (2020) in its candour about Korean-American identity and mental health in the professional kitchen. Choi’s Broken Bread series on KCET and PBS has extended the public voice into television form.
Notable Roy Choi dishes
Several Choi dishes and concepts have become reference points in American street food. The Kogi short-rib taco (Korean-marinated short rib, Korean chili salsa, cabbage slaw, handmade tortilla) is the single most-cited Choi dish and launched the Korean-Mexican taco category nationally. The Kogi spicy-pork taco, the kimchi quesadilla, the kimchi-bacon fried rice, and the Pacman burger are long-running signatures. At Best Friend in Las Vegas, Korean-American family dishes (gochujang wings, kalbi short rib, bibimbap) anchor the menu. Choi cookbooks include L.A. Son (2013) and The Choi of Cooking (April 2025). His Broken Bread television series on KCET and PBS (2018-present) is the defining visual document of his work.
Roy Choi awards and recognition
- 2009: Food and Wine Best New Chef (first food-truck chef ever named)
- 2013: L.A. Son memoir published; New York Times bestseller
- 2014: Culinary advisor on Jon Favreau’s film Chef
- 2015: Founds LocoL with Daniel Patterson (social-impact venture)
- 2016: Time 100 Most Influential People list
- 2017: James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year (jointly with Daniel Patterson for LocoL)
- 2018: Broken Bread premieres on KCET and PBS
- 2019: Multiple Daytime Emmy nominations for Broken Bread
- April 2025: The Choi of Cooking cookbook published
- March 2026: Keynotes Bar and Restaurant Expo in Las Vegas
Roy Choi impact on American street food
Choi’s most concrete contribution is the November 2008 launch of Kogi BBQ and the Korean-Mexican taco format that followed. Kogi is widely credited as the origin point of the modern American food-truck era: the first operation to use Twitter at scale to announce mobile restaurant locations, the first operation to present fusion street food at serious culinary level in the United States, and the first food-truck chef named Best New Chef by Food and Wine magazine (in 2009). The food-truck boom of 2009-2015 across American cities descends directly from Kogi’s model.
The second contribution is LocoL and the broader social-impact argument. Founded in 2015 with Daniel Patterson, LocoL attempted to bring affordable healthy fast-casual food to underserved neighbourhoods including Watts, Oakland and the Tenderloin in San Francisco. The project faced significant operational and funding challenges and most locations have closed, but it forced industry conversation about food access and remains a reference point. José Andrés‘s World Central Kitchen operates in adjacent social-impact territory in a different register.
The third contribution is public writing and media presence. L.A. Son (2013) set a new standard for candour in chef memoirs, parallel to David Chang‘s later Eat a Peach (2020), and Broken Bread on KCET and PBS has been one of the most consistent chef-led public-affairs television programmes of the past decade. Within the Californian fine-dining generation Choi sits in adjacent territory to Alice Waters on social-impact and community arguments, though in a dramatically different register.
Roy Choi FAQ
What is Kogi BBQ?
Kogi BBQ is the Los Angeles food-truck operation Roy Choi co-founded in November 2008 with Mark Manguera and Caroline Shin. The truck serves Korean-Mexican tacos including Korean-marinated short-rib tacos with Korean chili salsa, spicy-pork tacos and kimchi quesadillas. Kogi is widely credited as the origin point of the modern American food-truck era and continues to operate multiple trucks on a rotating LA schedule in 2026.
Was Roy Choi the advisor on the film Chef?
Yes. Choi served as culinary advisor to Jon Favreau’s 2014 film Chef, which told the story of a professionally-trained chef who leaves restaurant work to run a food truck. Favreau has said in multiple interviews that Kogi and Choi’s career provided direct inspiration for the film’s premise.
What is LocoL?
LocoL is the social-impact fast-casual venture Choi co-founded with Daniel Patterson in 2015, with the goal of providing affordable healthy food in underserved neighbourhoods. Launch locations included Watts (Los Angeles), Oakland, and the Tenderloin (San Francisco). Most LocoL locations have now closed due to pandemic and funding challenges, but the project earned Choi and Patterson the 2017 James Beard Humanitarian of the Year award.
What restaurants does Choi operate in Las Vegas?
Two venues at Park MGM Las Vegas: Best Friend (opened 2018, Korean-American sit-down restaurant) and The Chef Truck (opened 2020, stationary food-truck format). Both operate within the Park MGM hotel-casino complex and continue to operate in 2026.
Did Roy Choi write a cookbook in 2025?
Yes. The Choi of Cooking was published in April 2025 and is the largest cookbook project of his career, following L.A. Son (2013). The 2025 book documents more than two decades of Choi’s cooking from early LA kitchens through Kogi and into the current portfolio.
What is next for Roy Choi
Following the March 2026 Bar and Restaurant Expo keynote, Choi continues to operate Kogi BBQ trucks in Los Angeles, Best Friend and The Chef Truck at Park MGM Las Vegas, and continues the Broken Bread series on KCET and PBS. His public Instagram (@ridingshotgunla) is the best source for current updates.
