A Chef and Humanitarian Chef Jose Andres And The World Central Kitchen
- jr81568
- Jun 16
- 3 min read
A Brief Work History
Chef Jose Andres is a well know chef and humanitarian in the US and worldwide. He was born and raised near Barcelona in Spain by his parent who both were nurses. He is married and has three daughters.
His parent loved to cook and taught him to help them in making Spanish dishes like appetizers and paella. He was impatient with the duties they assigned him like building a fire. His father told him when you learn to control the fire you can cook anything. That day he learned a valuable lesson and focused on learning to build the fire to cook.
He attended a cooking school in Barcelon at 15 and worked for El Bulli Restaurant. Later he worked under Chef Ferra Adria and learned how to make upscale Spanish recipes. He left Spain to live in the US and at the time did not know much English. Chef Andres worked at El Dorado Petit in Manhattan. He claimed he learned English watching Julia Child on TV.
Later he moved to Washington DC where he assisted with the opening of a restaurant called Jaleo learning to make appetizer, paella, and shared plates. He continued to move ahead in the culinary world working and managing restaurants.
In 2006 he started a Think Food Group with another professional that eventually open 30 food establishments around the world like the Mercado Little Spain Market. The Bazaar, The Butterfly, Jaleo, Minibar, and Fish by Jose Andres.
Chef Jose Andres And The World Central Kitchen
Chef Jose believes in volunteering and giving back to the community. In Washington he volunteered to work at the Central Kitchen an organization that trains workers to cook for the poor in the community. They use produce and products that would otherwise be thrown away and cook an entire meal.
In 2010 he founded The World Central Kitchen because of an earthquake in Haiti. The organizations provide meals to citizens that suffered natural disasters due to climate change, war, and accidents.
In 2020 due to the explosions in Beirut and Lebanon they served meals to citizens in that region. In 2021 when a condo collapsed in Surfside Florida they provided meals to citizens. Their organization provides meals to those affected by the Russia Ukraine War.
In 2024 with a famine in Gaza they arranged 200 tons of food to be delivered to Gaza by waterways and distributed by workers living there. They recently provided meal to those affected by Candian wildfires and in Southern California 2025. They train chefs for troubled areas to provide food to those in need.
How He Started With Humanitarian Work
A colleague that owned a solar power stove company in Spain invited Chef Andres to go with him on a trip to Haiti to distribute solar powered cooking equipment. It was to distribute the equipment to the citizens after the earthquake. In Haiti he set up solar powered cooking equipment and showed citizens how to use them. He has taught cooking classes to the poor in different cities and towns in the United States.
Chef Jose Andres and His Restaurants
Chef Andres owns a variety of restaurants located in the United States and the Bahamas. The are upscale restaurants that serve excellent Mexican food, tacos, seafood, fish, steak, pork, lamb, sausage, chicken, salads, soups, cheese, desserts, and tapas or appetizers.
His restaurants showcase different cuisines from different countries. He has Spanish, Mexican, Chinese, Mediterranean, Japanese, vegetarian, Turkish, Greek and Lebanese. These restaurants showcase his culinary talents and entrepreneur skills for the hospitality industry.
References:
Jose Andres Group Restaurants Website 2025
Give Your Meal A Spanish Spin With These Recipes From Chef Jose Andres, by Food and Wine Editors, Food and Wine, May 2023
The Untold Truth of Chef Jose Andres, by Brent Furdyk and Brian Boone, Mashed, April 12, 2022
Jose Andres, By Biographer Editors, Biography, March 24, 2022
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