Bethesda Chef José Andrés left Spain for America in 1991 with $50 in his pocket.
Since then, he has volunteered at organizations that feed the hungry, created more than 30 restaurants, became an American citizen and traveled the globe, creating “one pot” meals for victims of natural disasters and wars.
He has even been nominated for a Nobel Prize.
Andrés formed World Central Kitchen, whose mission he described as, “Let’s feed everybody as quick as we can. Let’s bring water as quick as we can.” He explained, “When you talk about food, the emergency of now is yesterday.”
Sunday night he told a packed audience at Sixth & I in Washington, D.C. that he considers “food a universal right” and “an agent of change.”
When Andrés first came to the area, he volunteered at DC Central Kitchen and saw the vast need. That organization prepares 10,000 to 14,000 meals a day, he noted.
It was there that he cemented his life’s calling and passion.
“Life is like a lottery. Some of us have the winning ticket, and some of us do not. It should not be that way,” he said.
Wherever he goes, Andrés works with the local people and purchases food locally. He then serves up local, comfort food. Doing it that way shows respect rather than pity, he explained.
When he traveled to Haiti following a devastating earthquake, Andrés joined with a local nongovernmental organization and learned as much as he could.
He’s been honing those skills ever since, striving to ensure those who lost so much from floods, earthquakes and wars, aren’t hungry.
Andrés, who was interviewed by MSNBC’s Medhi Hasan, grew emotional at one point, acknowledging that he has been “a little bit selfish” in running from cause to cause and country to county and not being home with his family enough.
He also admitted that his three daughters prefer his wife’s recipes, which he called “very humbling.”
Andrés spoke at the historic synagogue to promote his book, “The World Central Kitchen Cookbook”. He said it felt wrong to call it his book and wished somehow that he could have listed all his employees and volunteers as coauthors.
He called the book “a celebration of all of those amazing people around the world” who help during crises.
Andrés got political at times, expressing disdain for former President Donald Trump, and in particular his wall separating Mexico and the United States. He said he always wants to protect his daughters but would never build a wall around them.
“Let’s build a wall of unity,” Andrés then suggested.
He pointed to “the 11 million immigrants who are undocumented,” noting, “They deserve to be Americans.”
Andrés’ drive to help the downtrodden was evident throughout the evening’s talk.
“There is always some darkness, but I always believe at the end of some dark tunnel, there is light,” he said, explaining that people need to keep walking to the light.
We loved the spicy, rapid fire questions! https://t.co/rrzVQa59kQ
— Sixth & I (@SixthandI) October 1, 2023
