Roy Choi has a passion for discussing cuisine. Choi, who was born and raised in Los Angeles and is well-known for his Korean taco truck Kogi, is constantly chatting about food. Having food keeps him alert. Three years later, Choi was penning the preface for Kun’s brilliant book “To Live and Dine in L.A.,” which takes a close look at this city’s culinary past using more than 200 menus from the Los Angeles Public Library’s holdings. Kun, a professor at USC, says Choi was essential in assisting him in “not being blinded by the archive” and in focusing on the greater issues, such as: What is food for? What does be a chef entail? How does feeding people work? Koy knows how to spread hunger with his satiable food options as a chef. In 2022, Kun and Choi continue to unpack these questions, as they consider what it means to really care for the people of L.A. through food, and the forces that are preventing this care from thriving.
His concept of how food and people can bring people together goes much deeper than we realize. However, it is becoming more complicated and changing. It does change as it goes. Considering that, in his opinion, you are a team at first. However, when things develop, you must take the helm and maneuver. But for many chefs, including himself — Kogi was supposed to be that — the romantic ideal is to touch everything that leaves the kitchen while keeping your head down and doing nothing else. He wants that above all else. However, if you don’t take a step back, you won’t develop. You are always a player at some point in life, and then you change to coach at some point, which, in his opinion, is the biggest spiritual growth phase because you let go of your ego.
People assume that since you are on the cover of the magazine and he is interviewing you, you are genuinely stepping into your ego. In actuality, though, you’re letting go of your ego. Because it’s all about you, the beginning can occasionally be your ego. Your tastes are everything. It also has to do with his artistic expression. But as you become older, you can see the bigger picture. As a parent or father, all you can think about at this point is how to assist each individual develop, realize their potential, and enhance their quality of life. It’s a strange phenomenon because, often, despite the fact that your financial situation hasn’t improved, you find yourself caring more about other people than yourself.
Koy’s method of thinking greatly enhanced his ability to produce wonderful cuisine.
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