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Chef José Andrés Receives Honorary Doctorate from Harvard

World-renowned chef and humanitarian José Andrés was the recipient of an honorary doctorate degree from Harvard University on Thursday.

Andrés could not receive the Doctor of Humane Letters degree in person, because the Bethesda resident is in Izmail, Ukraine, partnering his World Central Kitchen nonprofit with seafaring aid organization Open Arms to bring food to the people of Bilhorod-Dnistrovs’kyi, a city isolated by the missile bombardment on the bridge to Odesa.

In April 2022, a Russian missile struck a World Central Kitchen site in an attack on Kharkiv. The workers were hospitalized, but have since been released.

Chef Andrés received a standing ovation upon receiving the award.

Andrés posted a message to Instagram in response to the award, saying:

“I’m humbled to receive an honorary degree from Harvard…who let me create the Science + Cooking class with my mentor @ferranadria [Spanish chef Ferran Adrià] despite never finishing high school! I’m thankful for my supportive family and to @wckitchen [World Central Kitchen] @dccentralkitchen [D.C. Central Kitchen] for giving cooks like me an opportunity to serve.”
The changemaker also holds honorary doctorates from George Washington University (2014) and Tufts University (2018).
A new documentary, “We Feed People,” debuts on Disney+ streaming service on Friday. The Ron Howard film follows Andrés and his World Central Kitchen across the globe as they bring over 25 million meals to those suffering from environmental or humanitarian crises.

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