José Ramón Andrés Puerta (Spanish pronunciation:[xoˈseraˈmonanˈdɾesˈpweɾta]; born 13 July 1969) is a Spanish-American chef and restaurateur. Born in Spain, he moved to the United States in the early 1990s and since then, he has opened restaurants in several American cities. He has won a number of awards, both for his cooking (including several James Beard Awards), and his humanitarian work. He is a professor as well as the founder of the Global Food Institute at George Washington University.[1]
José Ramón Andrés Puerta was born in Mieres, Asturias, Spain,[5] on 13 July 1969.[6] Andrés' family moved to Catalonia when he was 6.[7] He enrolled in culinary school in Barcelona at the age of 15, and when he needed to complete his Spanish military service at age 18, he was assigned to cook for an admiral.[8] He met Ferran Adrià in Barcelona, and he worked three years at El Bulli, from 1988 to 1990.[9] In December 1990, he was fired by Adrià and decided to move to the United States.[10]
Culinary career
Coming to the United States
At the age of 21, Andrés arrived in New York City to cook in midtown Manhattan at an outpost of a popular Spanish restaurant, Eldorado Petit. During his time in New York, he also staged servings at The Quilted Giraffe.[8] In 1993, Andrés was hired to lead the kitchen at Jaleo, a new tapas restaurant in Washington, D.C. In subsequent years, he helped the owners of Jaleo to open more restaurants: Cafe Atlantico, Zaytinya and Oyamel, along with two more Jaleo outposts.[11] In 2003, Andrés started minibar – a restaurant space within a larger restaurant – at a six-seat counter within Cafe Atlantico.[11][8]Minibar eventually became a stand alone restaurant that has a twelve-seat counter. Seats are released on a monthly basis; according to the Washington Post they typically are reserved within 24 hours.[12]
Chef and restaurateur
As he opened more restaurants in the US, Andrés became more well-known in his native Spain, starring in his own cooking show, Vamos a Cocinar, which debuted in 2005.[5] He also published his first book, Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America, in 2005.[11] In 2006, he partnered with Robert Wilder to form ThinkFoodGroup, making Andrés a co-owner in his restaurants.[11] Together, they opened more restaurants in Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Puerto Rico.[9]
The World Central Kitchen (WCK) raised almost $30 million in 2019, then $250 million in 2020.[24] In response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Andrés provided locally cooked dishes specific to the region essential to comforting people touched by disasters.[25] Since it was founded, the NGO has organized meals in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Zambia, Peru, Cuba, Uganda, Cambodia,[2] and in Poland on the border of Ukraine.[26] It has provided aid and meals in the United States and Puerto Rico and has helped during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Andrés runs WCK's operations with the help of ~200 devoted colleagues[27] including Sam Bloch.[28]
In 2022, WCK took in $519 million in grants and donations.[24]
Israel–Gaza war
On 1 April 2024, seven WCK workers in Gaza were killed by multiple Israeli military airstrikes in the city of Deir al-Balah.[31][32][33] Andrés rejected Israeli and U.S. assertions that the strike was not deliberate. Andrés stated the seven workers were "targeted deliberately" and killed "systematically, car by car". The war in Gaza, he said, is "not a war against terrorism anymore" but a "war against humanity itself."[34][35]
Restaurants
Along with partner Rob Wilder,[36] Andrés owns several restaurants:[37]
Signature restaurants:
minibar by José Andrés – Washington, D.C. – several chefs serve a prix fixe menu of about 25 small courses to twelve diners at a time.[38] Received two stars from the DC edition of the Michelin Guide in 2016.[39]
barmini by José Andrés – Washington, D.C. – Cocktail bar adjacent to minibar.
é by José Andrés – Las Vegas – several chefs serve a prix fixe menu of about 25 small courses to nine diners at a time. Modeled after minibar and located inside Jaleo.[40]
Bazaar Meat by José Andrés – Las Vegas, Chicago, and Los Angeles (opening in 2025)[42] – Modern, high-end steakhouse featuring imported cuts of rare meat.
Bar Mar by José Andrés – Chicago and Glendale (inside of VAI Resort) – Seafood-focused happy hour venue with a raw bar and fancy cocktails.[43]
Bazaar Mar – Las Vegas (inside The Shops at Crystals)[44] – Seafood-driven interactive restaurant highlighting Spanish flavors.
Bar Centro – Las Vegas (adjacent to Bazaar Mar inside The Shops at Crystals) – Spanish bakery and craft cocktail bar.[44]
Agua Viva – Downtown Los Angeles (at the Conrad Hotel) – Rooftop restaurant with beach club theme that focuses on flavors from across the Latin and Asian diaspora.[46]
Airlight – Downtown Los Angeles (at the Conrad Hotel) – Poolside café featuring handheld bites and creative cocktails.[46]
The Beaudry Room – Downtown Los Angeles (at the Conrad Hotel) – Lobby bar featuring experimental cocktails and bite-sized tapas.[46]
Café by the River – Chicago – All-day coffee shop and café.[47]
China Chilcano by José Andrés – Washington, DC – Chinese, Japanese and Peruvian fusion. Included in Michelin Guide's Bib Gourmand list of exceptional restaurants at moderate prices.[48]
China Poblano by José Andrés – Las Vegas – Chinese and Mexican fusion.
Jaleo by José Andrés – Washington, D.C., Orlando (inside of Disney Springs entertainment complex), Las Vegas, Chicago, and Dubai – Traditional Spanish tapas. DC location included in Michelin Guide's Bib Gourmand list of exceptional restaurants at moderate prices.[48]
Oyamel – Washington, D.C. – Small plates and antojitos. Included in Michelin Guide's Bib Gourmand list of exceptional restaurants at moderate prices.[48]
Pepe – Washington, D.C. (food truck) and Orlando (brick-and-mortar location inside of Disney Springs complex) – Fast-casual Spanish concept featuring sandwiches, salads, gazpacho, and more.
Pigtail by José Andrés – Chicago – Speakeasy-style cocktail bar located in the basement of Jaleo Chicago.[50]
San Laurel – Downtown Los Angeles (at the Conrad Hotel) – An interpretation of California cuisine through a Spanish lens.[46]
SED by José Andrés – Downtown Los Angeles (at the Conrad Hotel) – Craft cocktail bar highlighting seasonality and local ingredients.[46]
Spanish Diner – Bethesda, Maryland (spin-off of location inside of NYC's Mercado Little Spain) – A Spanish take on the classic American diner. It serves asturian cuisine dishes including Arroz a la Cubana (a plate of rice, tomato and two fried eggs with sausage and sweet banana).[51]
Zaytinya – Las Vegas,[52] Washington, D.C., New York City, and Miami Beach – Small plates of food from the Mediterranean regions of Greece, Turkey, and Lebanon. Included in Michelin Guide's Bib Gourmand list of exceptional restaurants at moderate prices.[48]
Andrés is married to Patricia "Tichi" Fernández de la Cruz and has three daughters; they live in Bethesda, Maryland, United States.[88][89][90] He met his wife while they were both living in Washington, D.C.; she is originally from Cádiz, Andalusia,[91] in the southwest of Spain.[90] He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in December 2013.[92]
Andrés, José; Wolffe, Richard (2018). We Fed an Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time. Anthony Bourdain/Ecco. ISBN978-0062864482. – after Hurricane Maria in 2017, Chef José Andrés had a "crazy dream" to feed Puerto Rico.
Andrés, José; Goulding, Matt (2019). Vegetables Unleashed—A Cookbook. Anthony Bourdain/Ecco. ISBN978-0062668387.
Andrés, José; Chapple-Sokol, Sam; World Central Kitchen (2023). The WCK Cookbook — Feeding Hope, feeding Humanity.Clarkson Potter. ISBN 9780593579077. – a cookbook on dishes served on the ground with his NGO and recipes celebrating the countries they have served.
^ abcRuhlman, Michael (Fall 2016). "José Andrés". Humanities. 37 (4). National Endowment for the Humanities.
^ ab"All about Chef José Andrés". explorelasvegas.com. Retrieved 23 November 2018. He started his culinary career when he interned at the world-famous El Bulli Restaurant in Catalonia, Spain with friend, mentor, and equally-famous Ferran Adrià. He worked in El Bulli for three years from 1988 to 1990.