The Joy of Roy Choi

The 2010 F&W Best New Chef continues to redefine what it means to be a culinary professional.

- By Amelia Schwartz

WHEN ROY CHOI FIRST OPENED KOGI BBQ, he thought his days of being a professional chef were over. “I left that world behind me, hung up my whites, and went off on this new journey to feed the streets,” he says. Choi had spent most of his career cooking at hotels, where the kitchens are often very traditional—you start as a line cook, work your way up, and, hopefully, eventually become executive chef. “At the time, there was only one path. The idea of becoming an entrepreneur was not really in your head.”

Choi opened Kogi BBQ in November 2008 with Mark Manguera and Caroline Shin, using Twitter to draw in long lines for their streetside Korean barbecue tacos. Just one month later, they received a rave review by the Los Angeles Times, and suddenly, Kogi BBQ was the hottest food business in the city. “From that point on, it wasn’t about money, networking, or growth. It was just about trying to bring happiness to the world, taking care of our team members, and making the best food we possibly could,” Choi says. And as soon as he stopped thinking about success, success came running toward him.

In 2010, Choi was named a F&W Best New Chef—the first-ever Best New Chef without a brick-and-mortar restaurant. “That was a big distinction,” says Choi. The accolade helped him realize that there is more than one way to be a chef—and cooking in a food truck was just the beginning.