I fell in love with Spain, and all things Spanish, during my first trip, years ago, when my oldest daughter was studying in Madrid. She fell in love with a Spaniard and moved there after she graduated. And my love has long included the Chef for many years now. I loved how in 2015 he yanked his planned restaurant from the new Trump hotel in D.C., due to the disparaging comments about Mexicans made during traitor45’s campaign announcement speech.
Flash forward to 2017, and the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Puerto Rico was absolutely devastated, and FEMA’s response was quite lacking. Who should step up to feed the victims? If you guessed Chef Jose Andres, and his World Central Kitchen team, you would be right.
Here’s more about the founding of World Central Kitchen
José Andrés founded World Central Kitchen after the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti with the belief that food can be an agent of change. We have expanded globally and have developed into a group of chefs creating smart solutions to hunger and poverty.
www.worldcentralkitchen.org/...
They did an absolutely INCREDIBLE amount of work in Puerto Rico
To date, World Central Kitchen has served over 3.6 million meals reaching every municipality in Puerto Rico from 25 kitchens with the help of over 19,000 volunteers. Learn more about the story of #ChefsForPuertoRico.
www.worldcentralkitchen.org/...
I was recently reminded of the work that he, his team, and the volunteers are doing in Puerto Rico, when I heard him interviewed on the radio. He touched on how they set up in their initial location, gathering local food and supplies, and making lots, and lots of sandwiches. He said sandwiches are a great way to feed thousands of people because they can be made via assembly line, and are a good use of volunteer time. People like helping out, and sandwiches are a great way to do it. In short order, (see what I just did there?), they were providing hot meals as well.
Over the first couple of weeks they were able to find bigger locations to cook, including a sports arena. He described sports stadiums as a giant kitchen, where people watch sporting activities. They kept finding new kitchens, new communities to feed, more local supplies, and kept growing to meet the huge demand of hungry people on the island. Eventually they were able to serve 150,000 meals PER DAY!
but wait, they’ve done more than just feed people in Puerto Rico
World Central Kitchen wasn’t satisfied with just feeding people, they decided they needed to do more to help the island’s recovery.
After this concentrated period of day-to-day emergency relief and recovery, WCK will begin the next phase of #ChefsForPuertoRico by creating long-term empowerment projects to provide lasting support to the communities we have served.
World Central Kitchen will fund restoration of prep kitchens for our core food truck team, enabling these small businesses to relaunch with full or enhanced capabilities and equipment for maximum productivity, including generators and diesel costs, for those that still lack power.
Grants will refurbish the food trucks, which have taken a beating after months traversing the island’s roads to bring food to the hardest hit areas. These food trucks will also prepare extra food to deliver to people in need, identified by World Central Kitchen’s data and intelligence-based model.
www.worldcentralkitchen.org/...
This is the work of an amazing Humanitarian, his team and volunteers. Fortunately he was recognized and lauded by President Obama, even before his work in Puerto Rico.
First in 2014 with this award:
On July 4th, 2014, José received Outstanding American by Choice Award from President Barack Obama. José was invited to the White House to be presented with the award that honored his recent naturalization as well as all of his advocacy for immigration reform.
www.joseandres.com/...
Then again in 2016 with this award...
Big deal alert: Cool dad and leader of the free world President Barack Obama has given D.C.-based chef José Andrés a National Humanities Medal for 2015. The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) sponsors the awards, which celebrate a deeper “understanding of ourselves, our history and our culture.”
The Spanish-born chef was spotlighted for his work in bringing “new and vibrant ingredients to our Nation, whether through his innovative techniques in the kitchen, his work on clean cooking technology and access to education, or the inspiration he provides to new Americans.”
www.eater.com/...
I’m beginning to wonder if President Obama just kept giving him awards so he could have him cook for him? Hmmm, something to look for when Obama’s memoirs come out.
Want to learn more about his time in Puerto Rico? Read his new book, we fed an island
There’s a good summation of the interview here: After Hurricane Maria, Chef Jose Andres had a 'crazy dream' to feed Puerto Rico
You can listen to the NPR interview I listened to, here.
Read the transcript, here.
Or better yet, consider buying the book, or checking it out at the library!