José Andrés, celebrity chef, emerges as one of the top weather heroes of the decade
José Andrés believes that food is more than just calories in a crisis, it provides empowerment and hope.
By
Monica Danielle, AccuWeather Managing Editor
Published Dec 18, 2019 7:04 PM EDT
His goal is simple: feed the people. But to do that José Andrés and his team of chefs brave hurricanes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes and much more.
His goal is simple: feed the people. But to do that he and his team of chefs brave hurricanes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes and much more.
Wherever there is a natural or man-made disaster, celebrity chef José Andrés and his team of chefs are there. World Central Kitchen was created by Andrés in 2010 after a catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, but it wasn't until Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017 that the organization really dialed in a disaster response blueprint that is garnering worldwide attention.
“I think one of the reasons World Central Kitchen exists is because we haven’t been doing the work properly," CEO Nate Mook tells AccuWeather. "Going back to Hurricane Katrina and before and more recently in Houston and Puerto Rico, we’ve left both American citizens and our fellow citizens of the planet -- we’ve left people behind because we haven’t been doing the work we should be and we need to learn and evolve and adapt."
Chef Jose Andres talks to the press while arriving to the entrance plaza of the Santurce Fine Arts Center moments before the premiere of the award-winning Broadway musical, Hamilton, starring its creator, New York native of Puerto Rican descent Lin-Manuel Miranda, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Friday Jan. 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
During the month of December, AccuWeather is revisiting some of the most extreme weather events of the last 10 years and highlighting the heroic people who carried out selfless acts during those disasters to help those in need. Few in the world have proven as selfless and critical in the aftermath of weather disaster as the renowned chef José Andrés.
Adapting in real-time is what World Central Kitchen does best. Feeding the people over the past decade, the group of chefs has honed their response.
“It’s a logistics machine," chef Sam Bloch told AccuWeather from the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas, where the team has served millions of meals since Hurricane Dorian. "We do whatever it takes to get the food to the people that need it and the situation is logistically challenging being a series of islands, so yeah, we’ve helicopters, airplanes, boats a large vessel, speedboats that go out to the keys every day bringing hot food."
Chef Jose Andres feeds a hurricane survivor in Puerto Rico. (World Central Kitchen)
World Central Kitchen
The team of chefs strives to use local resources and employs local chefs and volunteers to cook. “So we do everything we can to essentially work ourselves out of a job whether that’s helping local businesses get up and going, purchasing from local businesses, hiring chefs, things like this,” Bloch added.
Andrés, 50, came to the United States from Spain in 1981, ultimately building an empire of restaurants nationwide. But, as he fed the few in restaurants, he always had his eye on feeding the many on a massive scale, just like his inspiration, the woman who founded the American Red Cross.
Chef José Ramón Andrés and Nate Mook. (World Central Kitchen)
World Central Kitchen
“José, coming to D.C. and seeing where Clara Barton worked right across the street, you know it was an inspiration for him of this amazing woman who took care of so many," Mook told AccuWeather. "From the very early days, Jose said he was always cooking for the few, but he always dreamed of how to cook for the many.”
World Central Kitchen has served millions of meals across the globe, including 4 million meals after Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and nearly 3 million meals this year in the Bahamas after Dorian.
All the hard work isn't going unnoticed. Chef Andrés was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, but that's not the kind of attention that motivates him. "Although he ends up sometimes with all the attention, he really looks at himself and WCK at large as a platform to support others and to fix a system that too often is broken," Mook said.
Sam Bloch in the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian. (World Central Kitchen)
"We can never do what a government can do or a military can do at scale, but if they learn from us and we can play a role in shaping the way that we as a country respond to these crises moving forward, I think we’ll all be better for it.”
Under Chef José Andrés’ command, millions of people have received food, water and hope. Taking inspiration from his hero, Clara Barton, Andrés is forging an entire new way to respond to those in need on a massive scale.
In a call to action on World Central Kitchen's website, Andrés signs off by citing the inspiring words of the late Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck: "Wherever there’s a fight so hungry people may eat, we will be there. We must be there.”
And so he is.
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News / Hurricane
José Andrés, celebrity chef, emerges as one of the top weather heroes of the decade
José Andrés believes that food is more than just calories in a crisis, it provides empowerment and hope.
By Monica Danielle, AccuWeather Managing Editor
Published Dec 18, 2019 7:04 PM EDT
His goal is simple: feed the people. But to do that José Andrés and his team of chefs brave hurricanes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes and much more.
His goal is simple: feed the people. But to do that he and his team of chefs brave hurricanes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes and much more.
Wherever there is a natural or man-made disaster, celebrity chef José Andrés and his team of chefs are there. World Central Kitchen was created by Andrés in 2010 after a catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, but it wasn't until Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017 that the organization really dialed in a disaster response blueprint that is garnering worldwide attention.
“I think one of the reasons World Central Kitchen exists is because we haven’t been doing the work properly," CEO Nate Mook tells AccuWeather. "Going back to Hurricane Katrina and before and more recently in Houston and Puerto Rico, we’ve left both American citizens and our fellow citizens of the planet -- we’ve left people behind because we haven’t been doing the work we should be and we need to learn and evolve and adapt."
Chef Jose Andres talks to the press while arriving to the entrance plaza of the Santurce Fine Arts Center moments before the premiere of the award-winning Broadway musical, Hamilton, starring its creator, New York native of Puerto Rican descent Lin-Manuel Miranda, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Friday Jan. 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
During the month of December, AccuWeather is revisiting some of the most extreme weather events of the last 10 years and highlighting the heroic people who carried out selfless acts during those disasters to help those in need. Few in the world have proven as selfless and critical in the aftermath of weather disaster as the renowned chef José Andrés.
Related:
Adapting in real-time is what World Central Kitchen does best. Feeding the people over the past decade, the group of chefs has honed their response.
“It’s a logistics machine," chef Sam Bloch told AccuWeather from the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas, where the team has served millions of meals since Hurricane Dorian. "We do whatever it takes to get the food to the people that need it and the situation is logistically challenging being a series of islands, so yeah, we’ve helicopters, airplanes, boats a large vessel, speedboats that go out to the keys every day bringing hot food."
Chef Jose Andres feeds a hurricane survivor in Puerto Rico. (World Central Kitchen)
The team of chefs strives to use local resources and employs local chefs and volunteers to cook. “So we do everything we can to essentially work ourselves out of a job whether that’s helping local businesses get up and going, purchasing from local businesses, hiring chefs, things like this,” Bloch added.
Andrés, 50, came to the United States from Spain in 1981, ultimately building an empire of restaurants nationwide. But, as he fed the few in restaurants, he always had his eye on feeding the many on a massive scale, just like his inspiration, the woman who founded the American Red Cross.
Chef José Ramón Andrés and Nate Mook. (World Central Kitchen)
“José, coming to D.C. and seeing where Clara Barton worked right across the street, you know it was an inspiration for him of this amazing woman who took care of so many," Mook told AccuWeather. "From the very early days, Jose said he was always cooking for the few, but he always dreamed of how to cook for the many.”
World Central Kitchen has served millions of meals across the globe, including 4 million meals after Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and nearly 3 million meals this year in the Bahamas after Dorian.
All the hard work isn't going unnoticed. Chef Andrés was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, but that's not the kind of attention that motivates him. "Although he ends up sometimes with all the attention, he really looks at himself and WCK at large as a platform to support others and to fix a system that too often is broken," Mook said.
Sam Bloch in the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian. (World Central Kitchen)
"We can never do what a government can do or a military can do at scale, but if they learn from us and we can play a role in shaping the way that we as a country respond to these crises moving forward, I think we’ll all be better for it.”
Under Chef José Andrés’ command, millions of people have received food, water and hope. Taking inspiration from his hero, Clara Barton, Andrés is forging an entire new way to respond to those in need on a massive scale.
In a call to action on World Central Kitchen's website, Andrés signs off by citing the inspiring words of the late Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck: "Wherever there’s a fight so hungry people may eat, we will be there. We must be there.”
And so he is.
Report a Typo