Cute! Very inspirational story and colorful, creative artwork. I only wish it was longer and told me more about Chef Roy Choi! ( )

In Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix tells the story of Chef Roy Choi coming back from failure and hardship to find his passion, recentering and continuing on. Roy refused to give into the criticism that said he couldn't be successful following his dream and serving his community. Told with graffiti style illustrations--even the call out bubbles are spray pain dots, the story includes important Korean terms and cooking processes supporting the story.

Chef Roy was born in Seoul, South Korea and raised in Los Angeles. His early life revolved around his parent's restaurant in Koreatown. After the restaurant closed, he felt adrift until culinary school. Although he found tremendous success as a chef, Roy burned out and had to find a new path. Chef Roy drew from his background of Koreatown and Los Angeles, combining diverse inspiration from his fine dinning experience with much loved Korean flavors and the street food of Los Angeles. He remixed these ingredients to open his successful food truck, cafes and "soulful fast food" restaurants in underserved neighborhoods. With a desire to "feed goodness" to the world, Chef Roy hopes to continue "remixing neighborhoods" with food made with love and care.

**Orbis Pictus Honor Book ( )

For Chef Roy Choi, food means love of culture, not only in Korea, but throughout the streets of L.A. Remixing foods from many ethnicities creates an L.A. food culture. Graffiti illustrations complement Choi’s story. Includes Author’s Note, Illustrator’s Notes, Bibliography, Resources, Biographies.

Chef Roy Choi and his journey to becoming a street food king was different than the other biographies I’ve read. The author did a great job on the key details that helped Chef Roy Choi start his journey as a chef dating back to his memories as a child watching his mother cook and his experience helping at his parent's restaurant. The story has a modern twist compared to other biographies. The illustrations are bright, modern, and helps to tell his story for those that are not able to read the words. ( )

Roy Choi was a young boy from Korea who moved to Los Angeles with his parents. He and his family were minorities because of their race, but his mothers Korean food was something that Los Angeles never had. So his family opened up a restaurant, which was very popular until the neighborhood changed and his family closed their restaurant and moved into the suburbs. He never did fit in with the children. He later found out where he fits in is the kitchen, so he applied for school and then worked for many restaurants. Working for someone else was never his passion. He found his passion in cooking what he knew best, which was Korean food. He and a friend created a food truck; it was an instant hit once their name was known. They did so good they could give back to the community and feed the homeless. They even opened a fast food restaurant, which was even more popular.
I loved reading this book, when I chose it I thought it was going to be a basic food critic book. The book is much more than that though. The message of the book is basically don't give up on your dreams no matter what the circumstances. Roy did not let his racial identity stop him. He used his culture and race to express himself in an unknown society and in the end people accepted him and loved him for him. He was also a great person, when he became popular he shared his wealth within the community. I think this shows great personal character. ( )