When I came to 'Gourmet,' I had no clue how to run a magazine; for television, I am fascinated to learn about editing.

American barbecue is all slow and low, you know, or low and slow, as they say down in the South, in Texas. But Korean barbecue is thinner cuts of meat.

If you look at my life, I wasn't just poor; I was rich and poor.

Everything I do is like tough love; everything I put out there in the universe is me trying to feed you. I really care.

I've been through a lot of things in my life.

I don't know if I'll ever be as good as I was when I started Kogi, but I strive for that.

I don't have a boss. I don't answer to anybody. I do everything that I want to do out of the purity of making people happy.

I know what it's like to be a teenager in Orange County. I know what it's like to be a kid in L.A. I know what it's like to not have any money and have your lights turned off. I know what it's like to live in a house with five rooms.

I've lived through a lot of different neighborhoods.

Chefs don't have a union. We don't have a Screen Actor's Guild.

I kind of feel for the vegetable world - the vegetarian world. It's almost as if people look at them like aliens or foreigners.

I grew up around food and in a restaurant, so it never dawned on me that this was a thing to do; it just was. Then I found it as a profession in my mid-twenties after years of bad decisions and depression. The first step was going to the bookstore and learning about this craft. Then applying in kitchens and just getting to work.

I used to be a chef.

Only if you're from L.A. do you know Elysian Park.

With public television, they're making things that aren't driven by advertisers. They're one of the only platforms where we can really mine for truth.

I'm in a place where I feel comfortable not being a chef anymore. That's taboo in our industry. 'Chef' is supposed to be the ultimate end of the road.

I have a fun side and a serious side.

I'm not a get-off-my-lawn guy. I embrace the new generation.

I know a lot of artists and chefs don't talk about this, but sometimes you just don't get to the finish line. That honesty and tenderness is something we're kind of not supposed to express.

There is something timeless and beautiful about cooking straight to camera.

I've always wanted a straight-up cooking show since I was a child.

I went to high school in Orange County.

I'm just trying to cook good food, and I'm not afraid to do whatever I need to do to keep the food evolving.

What if every high-caliber chef told our investors that for every fancy restaurant we build, it would be a requirement to build one in the hood as well?