Flavor of Los Angeles

When Roy Choi and his business partner Mark Manguera came up with the idea of getting a food truck back in 2008, no one would have imagined that they were about to create a new food phenomenon. The business was called Kogi Korean BBQ, and the gastronomic bombshell it dropped was a particularly LA invention: the Korean Taco. As an immigrant from Korea growing up in a Latino neighborhood of Los Angeles, Roy combined the flavors that influenced him. Combined with the ingenuity with which he mixes ethnic flavors and his willingness to source top-shelf food, Roy earned a Food & Wine “Best New Chefs” Award, raving critics, and legions of hungry fans. In the very beginning, Roy and his team would park in front of nightclubs, give free food samples to the bouncers and hope for them to spread the word. The business was finally buzzing when another pioneering Kogi idea came into play – using Twitter to announce the trucks’ locations. Back in 2008 the social networking service existed, but not many people were actually using it. By introducing Twitter to the customers and showing them how to follow the trucks online, Kogi's popularity grew over night, leading Newsweek magazine to entitle Roy's truck “America’s first viral eatery”.

Learn more about Kogi Korean BBQ HERE.

Production: Kitty Bolhöfer/ Filming & Photos: Fridolin Schöpper / Editing: Konterfei / Music: Carlos