When I read in a local newspaper about two months ago, that the relief kitchen of a renowned chef had been damaged due to a a missile that hit in the area in Kharkiv, Ukraine, I was quite surprised. Who was this chef? How come he was operating in Ukraine – a war zone? What I found out was a very touching and an admirable story … (Lead image above: By Paul Morigi/Getty Images for DC Central Kitchen).

The damaged relief kitchen was a restaurant operating with support from World Central Kitchen (WCK), an organization founded by José Andrés (José Ramón Andrés Puerta), a Spanish-born chef and restaurateur living in USA. Chef Andrés was nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize and named one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” in both 2012 and 2018. He as well as his restaurants won numerous awards for his culinary and humanitarian work, including James Beard Foundation’s ‘Outstanding Chef’ and ‘Humanitarian of the Year’ awards.

World Central Kitchen (WCK) is a nonprofit non-governmental organization (NGO) providing fresh and hot meals for the people in need in the wake of natural disasters and emergencies. Chef José Andrés tells in the organization’s website that WCK started with a simple idea at home with his wife Patricia, of sending in cooks when people are hungry. He further tells that it all began in 2010 after a huge earthquake hit Haiti where he found himself learning to cook black beans for the Haitians the way they wanted: mashed in a creamy sauce (wck.org). Richard Wolffe, the director of José Andrés Media, explains this as follows:
“It’s about having food your way and not the way some white savior thinks it should be cooked. That really shaped World Central Kitchen in all of its operations moving forward.” (usatoday.com)

Chef Andrés and his team had served four million meals to the people of Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria in 2017, which he told about in his best-selling book titled “We Fed an Island“.

WCK is out in the fields for twelve years responding to natural disasters and emergencies. They transport food and distribute meals for the hungry. They were in the Bahamas following Hurricane Dorian, in Australia during the bushfires, Beirut after the blast and in Spain after a volcano eruption in La Palma of the Canary Islands. They were feeding the hungry people during the volcanic eruptions in Hawaii and Guatemala, tsunamis in Indonesia, the border crisis in Tijuana, Mexico or the political instability in Venezuela and Colombia. They fed millions struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic. And currently they are in Ukraine, first time Chef José Andrés and his WCK operating in a war zone, to help and feed the Ukranians affected by the war.

Chef Andrés and WCK team work to achieve the mission of WCK which is very clear and direct: “Feeding anybody who is hungry and bringing water to anybody who is thirsty, and making it happen right away.” (José Andres)
Yet they are doing much more than this… They try to bring clean cooking practices by empowering communities in the Caribbean and Central America to transition to LPG, natural gas or solar power from wood and charcoal cooking that accelerate climate change. They organize the resources and people in disaster-hit places in the most beneficial way. Chef Andrés tells in their website that they source and hire locally wherever they can and try to achieve economic recovery through food in the regions they operate. I think this is a very responsible and sustainable way of helping people: not just helping them but enabling them to help themselves as well.

WCK also offers financial support through grants and loans for small food producers and operate culinary training programs for chefs and relief providers. They currently provide financial support in The Bahamas, Guatemala, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands, but plan to expand further. They also run a program in US (WCK Direct) whereby enrolled families in need can order free meals from the restaurants nearest to them. You can check their website for more details about WCK’s works, to apply for a grant or to volunteer (wck.org).

José Andres and his World Central Kitchen (WCK) have been subjects of a new documentary titled “We Feed People” produced by National Geographic and directed by Ron Howard which has recently premiered on Disney Plus.

Andrés is also concerned with the issues such as school lunch standards and childhood obesity for which he has lobbied friends in US Congress. He supports the immigrants in US. After having lived in US as a Spanish immigrant for more than ten years, he became a US citizen in 2013. He had stated in an interview that immigrants make up more than half of the staff at his restaurants. (washingtonpost.com / latimes.com)

Born in the Asturias region of Spain, José Andrés learned cooking first from his parents and then in the kitchen of chef Ferran Adrià’s legendary restaurant El Bulli, named the world’s best restaurant five times and was awarded three Michelin stars. He immigrated to United States in 1991, first to New York than to Washington, D.C. and set up a group of restaurants around the country. He has become a pioneer of Spanish tapas in US bringing the Spain’s small plates dining concept to the country with his award winning restaurants (joseandres.com). Andrés is the owner of ThinkFoodGroup, the company behind his group of more than 30 restaurants (thinkfoodgroup.com) in US as well as Puerto Rico and Mexico.

Besides his tapas restaurants, Andrés opened “Mercado Little Spain” in Manhattan, New York with his fellow chefs Albert and Ferran Adrià with whom he had worked together in El Bulli restaurant, in 2019 – a dining and market place with diverse food and drinks from Spain, inspired by the historic mercados of his home country. The place is told to be a space for socializing with family and friends, having business lunches or quick meals. It says in their website: “Mercado Little Spain is a veritable love letter to Spain from Chef José Andrés“.

José Andrés had also a close friendship with Anthony Bourdain, the late American celebrity chef, and starred in one episode of Bourdain’s show “No Reservations“ about the closing of El Bulli. He had also hosted and starred in several cooking TV shows either in US or Spain like “Vamos a Cocinar” or “Made in Spain“.

I like the creative Spanish dish Paella, if cooked in the real Spanish way. I was startled to read that Andrés sent Paella to The International Space Station in March 2022 so that the astronauts could enjoy a family meal. Jose Andrés emphasizes the unifying effect of Paella, which encourages sharing. I read that Andrés had once tweeted a photo of his father cooking a massive pan of paella saying: “He loved cooking for everyone.… If more people showed up, he told me, just add more rice.” (aarp.org). Andrés says:
“The way that families, even today, eat paella, is that the pan is in the middle of the table. We believe in sharing,… We believe we all are part of the same planet.” (wck.org).

Andrés has been married since 1995 to Patricia Fernandez de la Cruz (Patricia Andrés), nicknamed as Tichi, who was also born in Spain (Cadiz, Andalusia) and whom she met in US dancing salsa. The couple lives in Bethesda, Maryland with their three young adult daughters. Andrés had told in an interview that his wife has been a huge anchor in his relief efforts (people.com).

Life is full of surprises and miracles. A Spanish man from the north of Spain (Asturias), and a Spanish woman from the south of Spain (Andalusia) meeting in US have fulfilled the American dream and have touched the lives of millions…

José Andrés and the team of WCK, his relief kitchen, continue to cook for the people in need either in Ukraine or other parts of the world. Andrés explains the motive behind his efforts as follows:

“Because food is not a luxury reserved for the lucky few. It’s a universal human right to live free from hunger. … . Sometimes you just have to show up with a sandwich or some warm rice and beans. You’d be amazed at the power of a plate of food. It can change the world, and so can you.” (José Andrés, wck.org)

No more words are needed …