8 Quick Questions for L.A. Chef Roy Choi

Los Angeles-based Korean American chef Roy Choi, who costars with actor Jon Favreau on Netflix’s The Chef Show, has a passion for more than cooking. He’s been called “an evangelist for food equity,” and it’s that part of him viewers see on his other show, the public television series Broken Bread. But that doesn’t mean he can’t talk about the joy of salted caramel ice cream.

Was there a moment when you knew cooking would become your life?

I don’t think there was a point I ever didn’t notice it. Growing up, we would go to the farms to pick up the produce, the piers to wait for the fishermen, and when you’re young, you’re like, “Mom, why don’t you just go to the supermarket?” Instead you drive three hours to Imperial County to get Napa cabbage. Those things are all embedded within me. I remember my family, the way they would cook: Food is not fast — it’s slow cooking, it’s fermentation, marination, all these things that develop over time.

How can we all get closer to the earth in our cooking and eating habits?

Go to your local farmers markets, your neighborhood restaurants. Get regional, get local. Get away from the corporate entities, the brand names, even for just a little bit. Start with one purchase — a local tortilla chip or fruit you can buy at the farmers market. Make small, simple decisions that balance the larger decision. Instead of buying your coffee at Starbucks, buy it from a local brewer. Instead of buying Coors or Bud all the time, buy beer at the local craft brewer.

Roy Choi and food activist Alice Waters grab a meal during an episode of "Broken Bread."

Dave Jimenez

Boil it down: What are three essential things for the kitchen?

A bowl, a knife and a pan. That’s all you need. With that I can do so much. In the end, a bowl can get you a lot of places. It can be something you use to prepare something, but it also becomes a vessel to eat it out of.

And what don’t we really need?

You can go without a toaster because you can toast bread in the pan. You can go without a whisk because you can use a fork. And you can go without a cutting board — you can just use the counter.

Even Chef Roy Choi must have a guilty indulgence?

I have a big problem with ice cream: Jeni’s, Salt & Straw, McConnell’s, Häagen-Dazs. I have to fight myself, literally. I have to have a talk with myself every day to not eat ice cream, because I will eat a pint a day.

What’s the go-to flavor?

I heard from an ice cream connoisseur that salted caramel is the measuring stick of good ice cream. So salted caramel, pralines and cream. I’ve never been able to find a good banana ice cream. If you know of any…