Roy Choi

🇰🇷 South Korea · Korean cuisine · b. 1970

The chef who started the modern food-truck movement with Korean tacos.

Biography

Roy Choi is a Korean-American chef whose Kogi BBQ truck, launched in Los Angeles in 2008, is widely credited with starting the modern American gourmet food-truck movement. Kogi sold Korean-Mexican fusion tacos — short rib bulgogi in a corn tortilla — and used Twitter to broadcast its location, building enormous queues at a time when food trucks were still considered low-end.

Trained at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, Choi worked in classical kitchens before launching Kogi, and since then has opened restaurants including Chego, A-Frame, Locol (a project to bring affordable healthy fast food to underserved Los Angeles neighbourhoods), and Best Friend in Las Vegas.

He has also been an outspoken advocate for low-income food access — an issue Locol was specifically founded to address — and his memoir 'L.A. Son' is one of the most acclaimed chef memoirs of the 2010s.

Cooking Philosophy

Street food, deeply considered. Choi argues that great cuisine doesn't need white tablecloths — it needs cultural authenticity, technical care and accessible price points. His work blends Korean home cooking, Mexican-American street food and California ingredients into something specifically Los Angeles.

Restaurants

Kogi BBQ
Los Angeles
The original Korean taco truck that started the gourmet food-truck movement in 2008.
Chego
Los Angeles
Casual Korean-American rice bowls.
Best Friend
Las Vegas
Korean-American sit-down restaurant inside the Park MGM.

Awards & Recognition

Food & Wine Best New Chef (2010)
James Beard Book Award (L.A. Son, 2014)
Time 100 Most Influential People (2016)

Iconic Dishes

Short rib bulgogi tacosKimchi quesadillasKorean-Mexican fusion

Cookbooks

L.A. Son: My Life, My City, My Food

⭐

Signature Recipes Inspired by Roy

Original recipes we created as homages to Roy's cooking style and signature dishes. Not direct reproductions of any copyrighted material — these are our interpretations of the traditionsRoy has worked with throughout their career.

🌮

Korean Short Rib Tacos — Roy Choi-Inspired

Marinated bulgogi short ribs in warm corn tortillas with kimchi salsa and lime crema — the Korean-Mexican fusion that started a movement.

25m prep · 15m cook · ⭐ 4.9

🌯

Kimchi Quesadilla — Roy Choi-Inspired

Aged kimchi and melted Monterey Jack cheese inside a crispy buttered tortilla — the Korean-Mexican lunch that stocks every LA late-night menu.

5m prep · 8m cook · ⭐ 4.8

Recipes in Roy's Style

These recipes from our database reflect the korean cooking tradition that Roy works in. They are not direct reproductions of Roy's copyrighted recipes, but traditional dishes inspired by the same culinary heritage.

🍗

Korean Fried Chicken Recipe — Double-Fried, Crispy & Glazed

20 prep · 30 cook · ⭐ 4.9

🍱

Bibimbap (Korean Mixed Rice Bowl)

30 prep · 20 cook · ⭐ 4.8

🍜

Japchae

20 prep · 40 cook · ⭐ 4.8

🫕

Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi Stew)

10 prep · 30 cook · ⭐ 4.8

Frequently Asked Questions about Roy Choi

Did Roy Choi invent the Korean taco?

Choi did not invent the Korean taco as a concept — Korean immigrants in Los Angeles had been making bulgogi-and-tortilla combinations at home for decades — but his Kogi truck, launched 2008, popularised it globally and turned Korean-Mexican fusion into a national movement.

What is Locol?

Locol was a chain Roy Choi co-founded with chef Daniel Patterson in 2016 to bring affordable, healthy fast food to underserved Los Angeles and Bay Area neighbourhoods. It received critical acclaim — including a 2-star New York Times review for its Watts location — but most branches eventually closed; Locol's mission lives on in similar projects.