It may not be a surprise to many that Roy Choi was announced as the “Best New Chef” by Food & Wine Magazine.
“Roy Choi is on a mission, and it’s a mission we completely and thoroughly support,” Cowin says. “He wants to bring great food to the street, not just to Twittering foodies. His food is delicious [and] original….
“This is the first time truck food has been nominated for this award, and it represents a change in the way food is delivered and consumed around America today.”
Here’s the full list of Food & Wine’s 2010 best new chefs:
Roy Choi of Kogi BBQ truck, Los Angeles
Matt Lightner of Castagna, Portland, Ore.
Clayton Miller of Trummer’s on Main, Clifton, Va.
Missy Robbins of A Voce, New York
Jonathon Sawyer of the Greenhouse Tavern, Cleveland
Alex Seidel of Fruition, Denver
Mike Sheerin of Blackbird, Chicago
John Shields of Town House, Chilhowie, Va.
Jason Stratton of Spinasse, Seattle
James Syhabout of Commis, Oakland
Kollaboration 10 is finally here and it takes the big stage and I mean really big stage with the event being held at the Shrine auditorium in Los Angeles, and that includes a red carpet entrance. PK and Roy have taken this little love child of an event to something bigger than they could’ve dreamt. If you’re in LA, check out Kollaboration and meet the next new big Asian-American stars.
When Kollaboration first started in 2000, some people said it was just a little show that would never last. Fast Fwd: 11 years later… soon to be 10 cities, 31 shows, tens of thousands of attendees, and MILLIONS of online viewers later… Kollaboration 10 has ARRIVED! Join us Saturday, March 6, 2010 @ the SHRINE Auditorium as Kollaboration Los Angeles presents the BIGGEST Asian talent show in American history to date!
Date: Saturday, March 6, 2010
Time: 7PM (Doors open at 6PM)
Venue: Shrine Auditorium
665 W Jefferson Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90007-3626
~6,300 SEATS ~ PERFORMERS COMPETING FOR CASH PRIZES~
CASH PRIZES for Freestyle Dance & Freestyle Vocal Competition!!
LIMITED DISCOUNTED TICKETS AVAILABLE AT: http://www.kollaboration.org/Tickets/Los-Angeles/Kollaboration-10-Tickets.html
Special Guest Performers:
Rex Navarrete – Comedian
Tony Rock – Comedian
We are Heroes
Prepix – Dance group from Korea
Pigeon John – Rapper
Vudoo Soul – Singer
Just Kidding Films – Guest Appearance
Korean Union Dancerz – Hip Hop Dance Group
Anbu Black Ops – Dance Group
Competitors:
Jason Yang
Clara
Paul Jisung Kim
Sam Hart
Mike Isberto & Alfa
Will Volume
Bhangra Empire
Guest Judges:
Kev Jumba – Youtube Comedian
Joseph Kahn – Director
Rex Lee – Actor, HBO’s Entourage
Lisa Ling – Journalist
Michelle Phan – Youtube Beauty Guru
Nita Song – President IW Group
Patty Yoon – CEO Garco Enterprise
NOTE:
“One of the biggest knocks on Asian Americans is that we don’t support each other in the entertainment industry. We harshly judge our own entertainers for either being too white, too black, and if you can believe it, too Asian. Kollaboration is a platform where young Asian Americans can perform in front of a live crowd. This show will open the minds of those who don’t give Asian Americans a chance when it comes to expressing themselves creatively. And hopefully, through it, we can witness a new type of Asian American artform we can claim as our own.”
Check out our interview with PK as he speaks about Kollaboration.
Korean chef Roy Choi who made truck food famous with his kogi tacos in southern California is now about to expand his food empire. What started a year ago with a single truck and a bunch of Twitter followers has now become an empire of 4 trucks and a soon to be restaurant in west L.A.
The new, still unnamed restaurant won’t use the Kogi name, Mr. Choi says, and he doesn’t plan to serve the taco. Instead he will try to update the rice bowl. “I see bacon-fat-studded chestnuts and fresh herbs on braised lamb; steak with a soft-poached egg and hand-crushed sesame seeds; organic rice, braised pork-belly, fresh-water spinach in a beautiful broth with sesame leaves,” he says, rattling off ideas. The food, he says, will be inexpensive enough that people who normally eat McDonald’s can afford it.
We named Roy Choi as one of the most influential Korean-Americans in 2009 and his impact was truly evident with new Korean taco trucks popping up everywhere and restauranteurs serving up their version of a Korean taco. Roy Choi embodies the hard working culture of Koreans and many Korean-Americans can relate to his life. He may not be the most eloquent guy but his focus and diligence has brought him this far and his belief in himself has turned the food world upside down. ”There is something very Korean about Roy being Roy,” says David Chang of New York’s Momofuku restaurants, who is also of Korean heritage and who met Mr. Choi last spring. “It’s about working your a— off, and not believing that you’re any good.”
Continuing our top ten of most influential Korean-Americans in 2009, we meet a man who stormed America with his food truck. How influential was Roy Choi and his Kogi Truck? The Zagat guide for 2010 began including the ratings of food trucks and it would be safe to say that the Kogi truck made the most influence on the Zagat guide to include this new category. How many restaurateurs can say they were profiled in the New York Times, LA Times, Newsweek, ABC News and many other national media outlets? Not many if any, but a little truck that zooms around southern California with Twitter followers may have made the biggest news in the food world in all of 2009. New trucks were popping up all around the country and this was a direct correlation to the success and popularity of the Kogi Truck. Of course David Chang is the most famous of Korean-American chefs, but it was Roy’s grassroots efforts and guerrilla mentality that got Kogi Truck on the American map. Roy Choi has a pedigree – a La Bernardin alum and Culinary Institute of America valedictorian - but he chose to do something very innovative with the invention of Korean Kogi Tacos and delivering them on wheels. No one else out there used Twitter and social media as a marketing tool better than the Kogi Truck. Roy Choi and the Kogi Truck were honored at this year’s prestigious Bon Appetit Awards, where he spoke in front of America’s top chefs and restaurateurs.
He (Roy Choi) spoke of delivering cheap, healthy, sustainable fast food to kids and adults in underprivileged neighborhoods who from birth to death eat nothing but fast food. (Later Choi explained to Eater that what they do would be the equivalent of an NYC truck going into the South Bronx or Bed Stuy at midnight). He spoke of starting with $1,500 and a family of co-workers and growing it into a 53 person company. He got a standing ovation. Ten minutes later, reps from both the Today show and the Food Network were scheduling spots with Kogi.
Roy Choi and the Kogi Truck is #9 on our list of top ten most influential Korean-Americans in 2009.
If you don’t know about the Kogi truck, then you’ve been living under a rock. Roy Choi and buds started humbly with a truck and an idea to cook and sell kogi tacos on the streets of LA. It’s taken the country by storm and it seems like everyone is trying to start-up a truck. Who would’ve thought that truck food could be so popular. It caused such a craze that now food trucks are covered for the first time by the new Zagat guide for 2010. We covered these guys back in January and who would’ve thought they would explode onto the food scene like they have. Walk down memory lane with a video from the Kogi guys on how it all started.
This past weekend, the kings of the New York culinary scene came together for the Bon Appetit Awards. Big guns like D-Biggity, Dave Chang, Drew Nieporent, Nate Appleman, Jose Andres, and Michael Laiskonis gathered in the Bon Appetit Supper Club restaurant on 57th and 6th Avenue to celebrate the magazine’s new top ten list of culinary taste makers. Daniel Boulud, the famed chef made a funny crack at David Chang saying he wants to debut a new Korean sausage called Momofuckyou. The final speech came from Korean-American Roy Choi from the Kogi Truck, who stole the show by delivering a moving speech about the grassroots and guerrilla mentality of his taco truck operation. Can you say Korean?!
He spoke of delivering cheap, healthy, sustainable fast food to kids and adults in underprivileged neighborhoods who from birth to death eat nothing but fast food. (Later Choi explained to Eater that what they do would be the equivalent of an NYC truck going into the South Bronx or Bed Stuy at midnight). He spoke of starting with $1,500 and a family of co-workers and growing it into a 53 person company. He got a standing ovation. Ten minutes later, reps from both the Today show and the Food Network were scheduling spots with Kogi.
After a couple year hiatus from New York, Kollaboration returned to the media captial of the world with a bang. A sold out crowd at NYU’s Skirball Center saw the most diverse set of acts from Bollywood Axion to 16yo guitarist Dylon Schroth. This 30th show would never have happened without the vision and will power of PK and Roy Choi, the two guys who started the “movement.” It’s rare to find vocal leaders in the Asian-American community, but these two gentlemen have found their voice by creating a platform for emerging Asian-American artists to showcase their talent that mainstream America would appreciate but haven’t discovered quite yet. As PK says, it’s a movement – will you join Kollaboration? We’re still editing the high def video and we’ll be posting them soon, but we wanted to share a snapshot from our little flip camera. More to come!
Kollaboration New York was a great success. This past Saturday night at the NYU Skirball Center, a packed house saw some of the best emerging artists and singers from the New York city area. It was also the most diverse Kollaboration show – which happened to be the 30th show in its franchise. The duo of Roy Choi and PK, who birthed Kollaboration nearly a decade ago, were on hand to celebrate the artists. We were fortunate to have met PK and Roy back in February and they are two of the coolest cats you’ll ever meet.
There was a diverse group of acts from dance troupes to singers. In the end, it was the all-female dance/drum troupe “Cobu” that won the grand prize. They were pretty amazing as they pounded Japanese drums with power and grace. They also should’ve won the prize for best hairdos. We were able to interview a ton of folks and meet with a lot of the emerging artists. We’re still recovering so we’ll have all the pictures and videos up later this week. More to come!
What is Kollaboration? You’ll find out this Saturday in New York. PK and Roy Choi are bringing the biggest Asian-American showcase to the NYU Skirball Center. We met both PK and Roy Choi down in Philly during KASCON and we were so impressed by their passion for Asian-American artists. It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears but PK and Roy have made a success of Kollaboration. You won’t want to miss this Saturday! See the latest news from Kollaboration below.
KOLLABORATION NY is THIS SATURDAY, which means you only have a few more days to purchase your tickets! VIP TICKETS are SOLD OUT and general admission tickets are quickly going! Get yours TODAY before they’re all gone! NYU student discounts are available!!
Everyone will be there so don’t miss out on the biggest Asian American show/party in NYC! You can purchase your tickets online at: www.skirballcenter.nyu.edu/calendar/kollaboration, in person at the Shagan Box Office (Tues-Sat 12-6 p.m.) or by phone: 212.352.3101
Bringing some hip hop flair to our special guest judge panel is none other than Director of Planet B-Boy, BENSON LEE!
This self-taught filmmaker’s documentary premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, and was a huge hit with New York audiences and audiences all across the globe! Benson’s outdoor screening by theWorld Trade Center drew nearly 6,000 people who witnessed a live preview of the film with a performance by Korea’s finest b-boy crews. The film follows the lives of the world’s top b-boys in Korea, Japan, Germany, Las Vegas, and France. www.PlanetbBoy.com. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPjWmpYKSJM
Want to get to know our competitors?? We want to introduce them! Check out our ongoing performer spotlight series on our blog: www.kollabny.blogspot.com. We hope that you will love them just as much as we do and hopefully have a favorite by the show! They’ll need all of your support!
Be sure to catch all the special guests and VIPs on the red carpet including:
• Richard Kang (MTV’s highest ranking Asian American executive)
• Bill Hwang, (CEO of Tiger Asia)
• Suok Noh (Goldman Sachs Executive)
• Eliot Kang (Founder of Kang & Lee, Ranked #1 Asian Multicultural Agency by Advertising Age)
• Karina Pasian (Def Jam artist): http://www.meetkarina.net/
• DJ Twilite Tone/Anthony Khan (Producer on Common’s 1st 3 albums, son of Chaka Khan): http://lepoissonrouge.com/events/artist/365
• DJ Fatfingaz: www.myspace.com/djfatfingaznyc
• Vaughn Voyage (Downtown Records-same label as Mos Def and Santigold): http://www.downtownmusic.com/
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It may not be a surprise to many that Roy Choi was announced as the “Best New Chef” by Food & Wine Magazine.
