Bad boy, good chef

Roy Choi is a 43-year-old Korean American who was raised in Koreatown in Los Angeles.

His forearms are heavily tattooed, he openly speaks about the debauchery of his 20s and looking at him, you wouldn’t think he’s a polished chef.

But he uses his past to drive his pursuit to change how America treats food.

“In the ghettos of America, we feed our children corrosive, chemical waste,” Choi said at the food event MAD Symposium. “As chefs, how do you feel about that? I’ve made my decisions, but I’m just one dude.”

In 2008, Choi launched the Korean taco truck Kogi BBQ, which marked the beginning of America’s food-truck craze.

He gave the masses short rib tacos with caramelized Korean barbecue sauce, cilantro-lime relish, and chili-soy vinaigrette between homemade corn tortillas for a mere $2 each.

This summer, he opened 3 Worlds Cafe with students at Jefferson High School as a way to teach them about healthy foods.

The cafe serves fresh fruit smoothies and other healthy options in an area where such options weren’t always available.

And today, Choi releases “L.A. Son: My Life, My City, My Food,” his memoir that pays homage to L.A., from his parent’s Korean restaurant to casinos were gamblers get giant bowls of Vietnamese pho.

In a time where the USDA estimates more than 13.5 million low-income U.S. citizens live in food deserts, areas defined by their lack of healthy, affordable food, it’s time we ask ourselves why we make inventive, fresh foods solely available to an elite crowd.

Beyond the bad-boy image is a chef who’s working to change this.

But like he says, he’s “just one dude” and can’t do it alone.

­— acarnold@indiana.edu

Follow arts editor Amanda Arnold on Twitter @aMandolinz.