Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix - (Food Heroes) by Jacqueline Briggs Martin & June Jo Lee

About the Book

Describes the L.A. street cook's life, including working in his family's restaurant as a child, figuring out what he wanted to do with his life, and his success with his food truck and restaurant.

Book Synopsis

Chef Roy Choi calls himself a "street cook."
He wants outsiders, low-riders,
kids, teens, shufflers and skateboarders,
to have food cooked with care, with love,
with sohn maash.

"Sohn maash" is the flavors in our fingertips. It is the love and cooking talent that Korean mothers and grandmothers mix into their handmade foods. For Chef Roy Choi, food means love. It also means culture, not only of Korea where he was born, but the many cultures that make up the streets of Los Angeles, where he was raised. So remixing food from the streets, just like good music--and serving it up from a truck--is true to L.A. food culture. People smiled and talked as they waited in line. Won't you join him as he makes good food smiles?

Jacqueline Briggs Martin, author of the Caldecott Medal winner, Snowflake Bentley as well as Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table, and Alice Waters and the Trip to Delicious continues her Food Heroes series with Chef Roy Choi on people who change what and how we eat. Together with food ethnographer June Jo Lee and internationally renowned graffiti artist Man One, they bring an exuberant celebration of street food and street art.

Chef Roy Choi is also available in Spanish as El Chef Roy Choi y su Remix de la Comida Callejera. Both language editions are available in audiobook editions, narrated by illustrator Man One. The English recorded edition was "Earphones Award" winner from Audiofile magazine.

From the Back Cover

Chef Roy Choi calls himself a "street cook."
He wants outsiders, low-riders,
kids, teens, shufflers and skateboarders,
to have food cooked with care, with love,
with sohn mash.

"Sohn maash" is the flavors in our fingertips. It is the love and cooking talent that Korean mothers and grandmothers mix into their handmade foods. For Chef Roy Choi, food means love. It also means culture, not only of Korea where he was born, but the many cultures that make up the streets of Los Angeles, where he was raised. So remixing food from the streets, just like good music--and serving it up from a truck--is true to L.A. food culture. People smiled and talked as they waited in line. Won't you join him as he makes good food smiles?

Jacqueline Briggs Martin, author of the Caldecott Medal winner, Snowflake Bentley as well as Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table, and Alice Waters and the Trip to Delicious continues her Food Hero series with Chef Roy Choi on people who change what and how we eat. Together with food ethnographer June Jo Lee and internationally renowned graffiti artist Man One, they bring an exuberant celebration of street food and street art.

Review Quotes

- Robert F. Sibert Award Honor for Most Distinguished Informational Book, 2018

- Notable Children's Book, American Library Association

- Orbis Pictus Award Honor Book for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children 2018, National Council of Teachers of English

- Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People 2018, National Council for the Social Studies

- Winner, FOCAL Award 2019 for Best Children's Book with California Content, Los Angeles Public Library

- "Outstanding Merit," Best Children's Book of the Year 2018, Bank Street College of Education's Children's Book Committee

- Junior Library Guild Selection

- "CCBC Choices," Cooperative Children's Book Center

- Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List, 2018-2019

- Rhode Island Children's Book Award nominee, 2019

- Finalist, INDIES Book of the Year Award 2017, Forward Review

- "Starred" review, School Library Journal

- "Starred" review, Publishers Weekly

"Graffiti-inspired illustrations bring to life the story of food truck/fresh food movement pioneer Chef Roy Choi."--Notable Children's Book, American Library Association

*Starred Review* "Spicy, sweet colorful tangy--all the words that authors Martin and Lee use to describe Roy Choi's Korean Mexican cuisine apply just as accurately to the book they've created along with L.A. street artist Man One... Choi's dedication to bringing wholesome flavorful fast food to low-income neighborhoods is reflected in every word and stroke of this colorful book... If you're not hungry already this savory array of sizzling words and art will make your mouth water. VERDICT This excellent picture book biography about an inventive chef doing good belongs on all shelves."--School Library Journal
"Author Jacqueline Briggs Martin and June Jo Lee remix authentic language and engaging text with eye-popping graffiti art by Man One. In this culinary celebration, cooking with love becomes food for the soul."--Orbis Pictus Award Honor Book for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, National Council of Teachers of English

"The third installment in the Food Heroes series presents Roy Choi and the Los Angeles street-food scene. Breezy text and lively illustrations invite young readers and cooks into the world of the food revolution happening across the country... Man One's graffiti-art style is the perfect complement to Choi's cooking and the lively LA street scene... A vibrant, life-affirming tribute to a chef and his city."--Kirkus Reviews

"With street-art-inspired illustrations, Martin and Lee tell the story of Roy Choi, a Korean American chef who combined his favorite flavors--his mother's home-style Korean food and the street food of L.A.--into a culinary revolution... Man One's graffiti-like artwork, filled with stylized figures, neon colors, and paint splatters, emphasizes Choi's urban origins as well as the dynamic, multicultural environment that inspired his particular brand of fusion. With an energetic message of thinking outside the box, this lively picture-book biography will give kids plenty to savor."--Booklist

*Starred Review* "In clipped verse that draws on the rhythms of hip hop, the authors follow Choi from the launch of his Kogi food trucks to his efforts to "'feed good food create worthy jobs and bring smiles' to 'hungry' parts of the city. Man One's layered graffiti-style artwork mimics the narrative's energy and Choi's commitment to 'cooking for everyone.'" --Publishers Weekly

"This is one of the most exciting picture book biographies of the year. Come for the ramen endpapers. Stay for the killer story and art."--Fuse #8 Production blog, School Library Journal
"Killer art accompanies the true to life picture book biography of Roy Choi, the man who brought high end cuisine and street food together so that everybody could have an equal chance to eat. Special Bonus: Ramen endpapers."--Evanston Public Library's 101 Great Books for Kids List

"The perfect family gift."--Minnesota Public Radio, "Best Books of 2017
"Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix is like a short-rib taco served straight from the truck--inspired, unexpected, and just so good. Roy is a reflection of his city--its creativity, its diversity, its possibility. This book is a must read for all chefs, aspiring chefs, and those of us who know the best recipes are coming out of LA."--Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti
"Every time I re-read this book, it makes me happier... One of the main ingredients for this LA-connected book is street art turned into book art by Man One. Don't miss the authors' and illustrator's notes in this book. They will have your students wanting to know more about these talented book creators... This is a book filled with so much respect for readers eaters and kids with aspirations ... it's completely satisfying."--Bookology
"Bold graffiti and staccato writing are just right for this Korean American foodie, proponent of fusion and inclusion."--San Francisco Chronicle
"Bursting with flavor and color, this book is a FEAST!" --Linda Sue Park, Newbery Medal winner, first-generation Korean-American

About the Author

Jacqueline Briggs Martin is the author of the Caldecott Medal winner, Snowflake Bentley. Chef Roy Choi marks the third of her award-winning "Food Heroes" series, after Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table and Alice Waters and the Trip to Delicious, on pioneers who changed what and how we eat. Her newest book is Sandor Katz and the Tiny Wild, also co-written with June Jo Lee after Chef Roy Choi. She lives in Mount Vernon, Iowa. jacquelinebriggsmartin.com

June Jo Lee is a food ethnographer, studying how America eats for companies such as Google and is a national speaker on food trends. She is also co-founder of publisher READERS to EATERS, promoting food literacy with stories about our diverse food cultures. Like Roy Choi, she was born in Seoul, South Korea, and moved to the United States. She now lives in San Francisco. Her newest book is Sandor Katz and the Tiny Wild, also co-written with Jacqueline Briggs Martin. foodethnographer.com.

Man One has been a pioneer in the graffiti art movement in Los Angeles since the 1980s. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world. He is the co-founder of Crewest Studio, a creative communications company focusing on contemporary global culture. This is his first children's book. He also narrated the English audiobook, an Audiofile magazine Earphones Award winner, and will narrate the Spanish audiobook coming in late 2022. manone.com