José Andres is best known for his role as chef in his many restaurants across America. However, it’s his second job as the head of World Central Kitchen for which he’ll likely be best remembered by those in one of the many disasters to which he’s responded. Founded in 2010, World Central Kitchen seeks to provide locally cooked meals and training to those in areas struck by both man-made and natural events, including hurricanes, wildfires, or even the U.S./Mexico border crisis. Says Andres of the organization’s successes, “Especially in the last few years, we’ve been to so many places around the world. The learning from the last several years is paying off.”,
The organization is only looking to continue growing, with its recent announcement of its Climate Disaster Fund, for which it hopes to eventually raise $50 million for support of disaster response efforts.
Originally focused on providing education and job training to those in affected areas to teach locals how to cook and install clean cook stoves, the organization expanded into disaster relief in 2016, after Hurricane Matthew, when Andres and various other chefs travelled to Haiti to give away cooked meals to those in need. Since then, the organization has also deployed its chefs to places like Houston, after Hurricane Harvey, and Puerto Rice, after Hurricane Maria. In the case of Hurricane Maria, WCK served roughly 3.7 million meals between 2017 and 2018.
When working in a region hit by disaster, Andres and his organization look to work with local chefs and ingredients. Says Andres of this approach, “In Indonesia, because we are using local chefs, we were doing Indonesian meals. The same in Mozambique, the same in the Bahamas, and the same in Puerto Rico, with [meals like] arroz con pollo.” Andres also notes benefits of this approach beyond convenience, saying “At the end of the day in these emergencies, [local fare] is what people love the most and what people appreciate the most.”
As for the inspiration for WCK, Andres refers to Clara Barton, who founded the American Red Cross and aided those injured on both sides in the U.S. Civil War, observing, “She created this amazing network and system to provide relief to wounded soldiers.”
