José Andrés

José Andrés is the founder and Chief Feeding Officer of World Central Kitchen, the international nonprofit that is first to the frontlines, cooking hot meals for the hungry after natural and man-made disasters.

Since its founding, WCK has cooked and delivered hundreds of millions of hot meals on every continent: after hurricanes in North America, earthquakes in South America, floods and fires in Europe and Australia, through the pandemic in Asia, and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

José has received many honors for his humanitarian work, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Humanities Medal, the Princess of Asturias Award, and the National Legend of Ukraine.

He has been named Humanitarian of the Year by the James Beard Foundation, and one of the world’s 100 most influential people by Time magazine. He has also been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by members of the U.S. Congress.

A Michelin-starred chef and the owner of 40 restaurants around the world, José founded WCK after the devastating earthquakes in Haiti in 2010. He later developed its large-scale feeding model after Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017.

His book about the Puerto Rico response, We Fed An Island, was an instant New York Times bestseller, as was The World Central Kitchen Cookbook.

Born in Asturias, Spain, José grew up near Barcelona and now lives with his family in Washington D.C.

He believes that a hot meal is far more than a plate of food: it’s a message that the world cares, a mark of respect, and an investment in recovery.