Who is Chef José Andrés? He’s serving hot soup, apple pie and more at Ukraine border
Chef José Andrés and his humanitarian kitchen — alongside Ukrainian chefs, firefighters and other volunteers — have been serving hot meals as refugees escape Ukraine.
“People of the World…Like you, I am distraught watching Ukraine under attack,” Andrés shared to Twitter on Friday, Feb. 25. “We must come together as a force for good!”
As Russia continues its invasion, he and his organization, World Central Kitchen, have served thousands of meals to those fleeing the attacks.
Here’s what you should know about the chef and World Central Kitchen.
Who is Chef José Andrés?
Spanish-born and trained, Andrés moved to the U.S. when he was 21 years old, according to his biography. After settling in Washington, D.C., he volunteered with DC Central Kitchen and “started to think big about philanthropy.”
“Over the course of his career as a chef and restaurateur, he saw the role of cooks – and the power of food – to change the world,” his bio says. “This path inspired José to found World Central Kitchen in 2010 after a devastating earthquake in Haiti, with the support of his wife Patricia, as well as his business partner Rob Wilder and his wife Robin.
“Since then, he’s pursued a mission to fulfill the words of John Steinbeck: ‘Wherever there’s a fight so that hungry people may eat … we’ll be there.’”
He is called the “founder and chief feeding officer” of the nonprofit organization.
How does World Central Kitchen help?
When there are people who are hungry, World Central Kitchen says it has one goal: “send in cooks. Not tomorrow, today.”
Since the 2010 earthquake that struck Haiti, the kitchen says it has served Puerto Rico after a hurricane hit the island, fed millions of people amid the COVID-19 pandemic and brought food to the hungry when wildfires overtook Australia. Recently, it fed Kentucky residents after a tornado hit the state.
“Food relief is not just a meal that keeps hunger away. It’s a plate of hope. It tells you in your darkest hour that someone, somewhere, cares about you,” Andrés says on the organization’s website. “This is the real meaning of comfort food. It’s why we make the effort to cook in a crisis.
“We don’t just deliver raw ingredients and expect people to fend for themselves. And we don’t just dump free food into a disaster zone: we source and hire locally wherever we can, to jump-start economic recovery through food.”
The kitchen has also committed to raising and spending $1 billion in response to extreme weather disasters caused by climate change, known as its Climate Disaster Fund.
What is Chef José Andrés doing at the Ukraine border?
The chef and World Central Kitchen have set up several places along the Ukraine border to serve hot meals.
As he and volunteers do so, the team has shared updates on Twitter. Andrés says his volunteers have meals at several exit points, including in Poland and Romania.
There are “many ways to fight,” he said in a video update, and he is fighting to ensure hungry refugees are fed.
“The journey out of Ukraine is long & difficult—more than half a million people have fled so far,” World Central Kitchen tweeted. “People walk for days in search of safety. In Medyka, families are greeted by volunteers who have come to help, many who are working with us to serve fresh, hot meals.”
Some of the hot food that has been served includes chicken stew, soup, tea, apple pie, pasta and freshly baked bread.
This story was originally published February 28, 2022 at 3:04 PM with the headline "Who is Chef José Andrés? He’s serving hot soup, apple pie and more at Ukraine border."