Spotlight on the Amazing Philanthropic Work of José Andrés

Chef José Andrés introduced Americans to fine traditional and avant-garde Spanish cuisine. Additionally, he has emerged as one of the most public-spirited and hardest-working celebrities trying to help stem the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Summing up the year 2020, Fortune magazine profiled him as one of the world’s “Heroes of the Pandemic.” The publication noted his dedication to the challenges of feeding people in need during a dangerous and chaotic time. 

Over the course of the pandemic, Andrés and his team have served about 100,000 meals daily to healthcare workers and essential employees, forklifted meals onto cruise ships docked in quarantine, and created a large-scale dining room out of the Washington Nationals’ stadium in order to provide a much-needed community kitchen. Here’s what you need to know about this chef and man-of-the moment philanthropist:

Early Life and Career

José Andrés was born in Asturias, in the northern part of Spain, and grew up near Barcelona. He decided to devote his life to cooking professionally while still in his teens. He went on to study at the School of Restaurants and Hotels of Barcelona, and obtain professional-level training in venues such as El Bulli, a renowned Catalan restaurant, under the direction of chef Ferran Adrià. 

After relocating to the United States, Andrés set up his base in Washington, DC in the 1990s. There, he created award-winning dining options like Café Atlantico, renowned tapas venue Jaleo, and minibar by josé andrés. He may single-handedly be responsible for the recent boom in enthusiasm for Spanish food in the United States. The New York Times dubbed him the “boy wonder of culinary Washington.” 

Andrés has brought his food empire, including restaurants, books, concept work, and other creative efforts, together under the ThinkFoodGroup corporate umbrella. Its motto is “Changing the World Through the Power of Food.” ThinkFoodGroup oversees venues serving some of today’s most innovative Michelin-starred food options that encompass Spanish, Mexican, Peruvian, and other cuisines, and venue types ranging from fine dining to casual grab-and-go sites.  

In addition, Andrés’ television show on the PBS network, Made in Spain, serves as a virtual cultural and culinary travelogue of his home country. Under the Obama Administration, Andrés also served as one of the members of the Secretary of Commerce’s Travel and Tourism Advisory Board. 

Philanthropic Efforts

As chairman emeritus for DC Central Kitchen, Andrés continues to put his time, his energies, and his heart on the line to help others. DC Central Kitchen provides both professional training for chefs and food service workers while feeding people in the community who may be going hungry. Many of the organization’s culinary trainees are from local marginalized communities.

He also founded World Central Kitchen (WCK) as a means of providing nourishing food to people affected by economic and other types of disaster, giving communities a chance to find both nourishment and healing. The WCK team has developed a massive cooking, feeding, and delivery tactical force. They are able to mobilize resources quickly and efficiently.

Early in 2020, Andrés and WKC responded to large-scale natural disasters, including the wildfires in Australia and a major earthquake in Puerto Rico. Then came the pandemic.

With people out of work, the economy in free-fall, and families standing in line for hours to receive food supplies, Andrés and his allies in the restaurant industry assembled their resources. They provided boots-on-the-ground help while speaking up on behalf of human dignity and the power of human connection. 

On January 6, 2021, when a violent mob of insurrectionists struck the Capitol building with the Senate and House of Representatives in session to formalize the recognition of the presidential electoral vote process, Andrés and his team were also there. True to his calling, he made sure to feed first responders and law enforcement staff by delivering pizzas to them on the scene.

The Connection between Food and Healthcare

On December 7, 2020, Andrés published an op-ed in The Washington Post on what the circumstances of the pandemic can teach us as a society about the problem of global hunger. He wrote that he understands not only the business of food, but the business of healthcare as well. Both his parents were nurses. For Andrés, the challenge of feeding hungry people can be informed by understanding the challenges of treating the sick. 

He noted that, at the time of the last great pandemic, the 1918 flu, the American medical system was largely in the hands of private charities and religious groups. As a result, there was not a nationwide mandate to secure effective, equitable distribution of healthcare resources.

The conventional wisdom of the time said that individuals were on their own if they became ill or injured. But after the public and government officials realized the scope of the disaster, government began to build up public healthcare infrastructure into the (admittedly flawed, but vastly more coordinated and sustainable) systems we know today. 

Creating a Better Food Delivery System

Andrés believes we can learn from current and past cataclysmic social conditions to build a better food-delivery system, one that can offer a skilled, professionalized response to the ongoing problem of hunger in America. Farmers can be paid not to destroy their crops, but to contribute them to local food pantries.

WCK alone has channeled $135 million directly to local restaurants to help them feed their communities. However, Andrés believes that to become truly comprehensive and effective, private charitable efforts need the systematized backing that only the federal government can provide. 

Andrés has already begun working with bipartisan groups of lawmakers to establish the FEMA Empowering Essential Deliveries (FEED) Act. This legislation aims to boost the federal funds available to work with local culinary providers to make emergency food distribution easier. Given the right kind of federal support, he points out, restaurants already have the infrastructure needed to feed the hungry.