José Andrés is a whirlwind in the form of a man. From a culinary standpoint, he's a prodigious talent who combines the traditional rustic tastes of Spain with 21st Century imagination and finesse. He has approximately 20 restaurants (it's hard to keep count) including two newish ones in Los Angeles. Both are located at the Conrad Hotel in Downtown L.A. San Laurel showcases "the flavors of Spain as seen through a California lens," while Agua Viva, located on the hotel's rooftop, mingles Latin and Asian flavors with gorgeous views of the city.
Then there are the cookbooks, the interviews, the TV shows (most recently, "José Andrés and Family in Spain" on Discovery+), the podcast (Longer Tables) and all the other trappings of life as a celebrity chef. But Jose's real work lies with World Central Kitchen, a non-profit that catalyzes local chefs living in disaster areas to feed their communities and to do it using as much local product as possible.
Andrés founded the organization after a devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010. But he considers himself just another volunteer at WCK, which has distributed hundreds of millions of meals across the globe. Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas. The Fuego volcano in Guatemala. Tornados. Every single hurricane in the Caribbean. The war in Ukraine. The earthquake that recently hit Turkey and Syria. If there's a natural disaster that has displaced mass amounts of people, World Central Kitchen probably won't be far behind. "While there are more official and bigger organizations, sometimes we are the ones that seem to be the bigger unofficial organization," Andrés says.
His three daughters, Carlota, Inés, and Lucía, will join him in a new TV show, "José Andrés and Family in Spain," on Discovery+. Photo courtesy of Discovery+.
Agua Viva, located on the rooftop of the Conrad Hotel in Downtown LA, combines Latin and Asian flavors. Photo courtesy of Conrad Los Angeles.