A World of Flavor: Chef Roy Choi

Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and June Jo Lee, illustrated by Man One.
Copyright 2017 by Readers to Eaters. Ages 5-12; Lexile level 710.

Then a friend said let’s open a taco truck,
put Korean barbecue in a taco.


What? Chefs cook in kitchens, not on trucks!
But Roy said yes!
He wanted to remix the tastes he loved
on the streets that were his home.

Here’s another one that you probably shouldn’t read when hungry! Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix is a biography of the Korean-American chef as he finds his own culinary style - and underline that word style, because boy does this book have it! The writing is like freestyle poetry - no rhymes, but there’s definitely an underlying rhythm to it. It’s further flavored with the occasional Korean term, which are defined in colorful spray-paint splatters.

Street artist Man One's large, bold illustrations in their vibrant colors are as attention grabbing as Choi's food must be. They really reflect the mood of the text, especially those that contrast with the general vivaciousness of the book - dark when Choi is feeling lost and white and comparatively bland when he is employed at a formal kitchen, which isn’t really his fit. The illustrations also validate graffiti as a real art style!

Chef Roy Choi has received quite a few accolades; our copy only notes its designation as a Junior Library Guild Selection, but among its other awards are a Sibert honor, INDIES Book of the Year Finalist, and an ALA Notable Children’s Book. That’ll happen when your book is a little bit different from anything you’ve seen before, just like Choi’s cooking itself.

This book encourages kids to both explore food of other cultures and to experiment with the flavors they already know and love, and could be incorporated into units on diversity, careers, Los Angeles, or even art. But watch out - you're about to have a whole batch of little foodies on your hands!