The first ship bearing aid to Gaza since 2005, which arrived Friday, was spearheaded not by the United Nations or a world leader but by a celebrity chef, José Andrés. His charity World Central Kitchen partnered with with Spanish group Open Arms to bring some 200 tons of food to the territory beset with hunger.
Andrés built his name with cookbooks and restaurants including Jaleo and Minibar but has also become known for flying into disaster and conflict zones bearing food relief with the organization he co-founded.
Here’s what to know about the man who was behind the first ship bringing much-needed food to Gaza during the war.
Who is José Andrés?
The restaurateur was born in Spain and moved out of his parents’ home at 15, funding his independence with hospitality work. Culinary school, mentorship under a leading chef and a stint in the navy followed, before he landed in the United States at age 21. He had $50 to his name, he told the magazine of the National Endowment for the Humanities when the organization awarded him its medal in 2015.
He moved to the nation’s capital to lead the kitchen at new restaurant Jaleo in 1993, helping spark a tapas craze. From that base he launched more than 30 restaurants, mostly in the United States, with many of the best-known in Washington, D.C. He had his first James Beard Award by 2003.
He founded World Central Kitchen in 2010 and has long been outspoken on issues of hunger, childhood obesity, subsidies for agribusiness, the minimum wage and immigration reform.
In 2013, he became an American citizen. He is married to Patricia Fernandez de la Cruz and the couple have three daughters.
When he was named one of the Time 100 most influential people in the world in 2018, fellow celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse wrote that Andrés was a “brilliant restaurateur who has shaped America’s culinary history and course by introducing his distinctive take on Spanish food and culture.”
What is World Central Kitchen?
Andrés and partners created World Central Kitchen after he went to help feed people in Haiti who had been devastated by a deadly earthquake.
The charity would grow from there, responding to a need for food after hurricanes in Houston and Puerto Rico, and wildfires in the western United States and in Australia. Its workers cooked for refugees living in tents at the U.S.-Mexico border and fleeing the war in Ukraine.
The group describes its mission as being “first to the frontlines, providing fresh meals in response to humanitarian, climate, and community crises.”
In 2021, Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washington Post, handed Andrés $100 million through his annual