Chef José Andrés

He arrived in the United States from Spain at the age of 21 with $50 to his name and a pocket full of dreams. Today, he is a world-renowned chef and a global humanitarian.

Spanish-American chef José Ramón Andrés Puerta, better known as José Andrés, trained for three years at El Bulli, the world-famous restaurant of Michelin star chef Ferrán Adrià in Cataluña, Spain.

He opened his first tapas bar in Washington DC called Jaleo in 1993 and hasn’t looked back. He has created 31 restaurants throughout the United States and in Spain through his ThinkFoodGroup. He has received the James Beard Foundation 2018 Humanitarian of the Year Award and was named one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” in 2012 and 2018. He also has two Michelin stars of his own and was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Obama.

These are all worthy accolades. 

But the main reason for this article is to highlight his humanitarian work. He founded the World Central Kitchen (WCK) in 2010. He describes it as a means for “feeding the many”. It uses culinary training programs to empower communities and strengthen economies as well as food disaster relief in the wake of emergencies around the world. 

Last year, he arrived in Ukraine days after the Russian invasion began. In five months since his arrival, he and his volunteers, many Ukrainian chefs and cooks, served 100 million hot meals. As well, they produced 55 thousand twenty-five-pound bags of prepared foods per day for Ukrainian families. Each bag contains some 20 meals. Chef Andres has told world leaders that food is a national security issue and that leaders must look at food as they look at energy and other essential strategic military materials.

One might ask how much of the funding the WCK receives is actually spent on programs as opposed to overhead. Charity Watch reports that 98% of contributions are spent on programs instead of overhead. It costs the organization $1 to raise $100. And Charity Watch grades the organization as A+.

José Andrés explains how he got involved in this type of humanitarian work and what elements formed his philosophy. In his own words, he says that he visited Haiti right after the massive earthquake of 2010. He found himself learning how to cook beans the Haitian way and realized that food relief is not only a meal that addresses hunger but is actually a plate of hope. It tells us in our darkest hour that someone cares for you. When prepared in the local way rather than as “meals ready to eat”, the result creates a sense of “home” for people in an otherwise stressful situation.

After a major catastrophe, the WCK puts people to work preparing and cooking the food rather than just distributing it. This quickly creates a sense of community and belonging essential to rebuilding after a natural or man-made disaster.

The WCK trains chefs in many regions in advance of a major event. It has launched a $1 billion Climate Disaster Fund commitment which, over the next decade, will support communities that could fall victim to natural or man-made disasters. In his website, José Andrés says that “sometimes you simply have to show up with a sandwich or a warm plate of food. One would be surprised at the power of a plate of food. It can change the world, so can you.”

Today, the WCK is hard at work in Türkiye after the devastating earthquake of a few days ago. Shortly after arriving there, WCK reported that “In Türkiye, the WCK team is working urgently to establish kitchens and scale up meal deliveries—yesterday we brought flour, oil, and other ingredients to a restaurant partner in Iskenderun so they could immediately begin cooking hot meals for displaced families”.

So, why the title of this article? 

I believe that Chef José Andrés has shown how one person with vision, drive, and ability can change the lives of millions. Wherever he goes he generates hope for both the victims and those who work with the WCK. 

He leads and teaches by example. And the results speak for themselves.

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Edition: Estefanía Cardeña