Roy Choi

“I used to be a chef.”

“Only if you're from L.A. do you know Elysian Park.”

“A-Frame became an expression of creating a place where everyone would feel comfortable, even if you were made to feel uncomfortable in restaurants before. It's a place where I explored my own insecurities as far as being mistreated in restaurants or being given the worst table.”

“I didn't just grow up lowriding: I grew up lowriding and also in mansions in Orange County.”

“I like to go to a Korean salon.”

“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.”

“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.”

“What was important for 'Broken Bread' to do was show real life.”

“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.”

“When Kogi started, I was dead broke, selling tacos on the street just to survive.”

“I really think I cook good Korean food. I really do, just straight up.”

“I know all about Orange County.”

“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.”

“I don't go for average.”

“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.”

“All Korean food is not just one thing.”

“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 wanted to be a topographer when I was young.”

“A lot of my friend's mothers and parents worked at Paramount Studios, so I would always go. I met the Fonz when I was really young, like four or five years old. I was always around people in entertainment all the time throughout my whole life.”

“Pico Union is an underrated part of L.A., and not a lot of people go unless you live there.”