Every time I re-read this book, it makes me happier. I’ve grown quite fond of the books being published by Readers to Eaters and I eagerly anticipate each new book.
Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix is another food artisan biography from Jacqueline Briggs Martin, this time co-written with June Jo Lee. Jackie writes the flavorful essence of the artist in an irresistible recipe of words. June Jo is a food ethnographer, “studying how America eats,” and the co-founder of Readers to Eaters. As a kid-at-heart, I want a biography written about her next. Studying food?
But this book is about a boy born in South Korea who travels to America at age two with his family and attends school in California. His mother is a talented cook, specializing in kimchee, a Korean food staple. Her cooking is so good that she and her husband open a restaurant. And Roy is fascinated by what happens there.
He becomes a chef. The authors relate his journey in a way that every kid will understand. Eventually, Chef Roy Choi launches the Kogi BBQ Taco Truck with a mixture of Korean and Mexican food. He prepares ingredients by hand, with love, to share with his community. Healthy fast food is a rare thing in his neighborhood and Kogi is a hit.
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. The art in this book (I’m paraphrasing from his Note) started with spray-painting the backgrounds on large canvases, photographing them, and then working with them digitally, adding pencil and Sharpie to create truly unique picture book art. He includes many scenes from his community — you can sense the love imbuing these pages. His palette, the textures … they’re yummy.
This is a book filled with so much respect for readers, eaters, and kids with aspirations … it’s completely satisfying.
Don’t miss this for your inspirational school and classroom library!
Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix
written by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and June Jo Lee
illustrated by Man One
Readers to Eaters, 2017.