His charisma and influence transcends the kitchen. He generates expectation and admiration. José Andrés (Mieres, Asturias, 1969) has been an influential person for years, beyond his success as a businessman. He based in Washington and owner of ThinkFoodGroup, the company behind the group of restaurants that he manages and with which aims to change the world through foodowns restaurants throughout Washington, where the chef has his home and headquarters, and in different cities in the United States, such as Miami, New York, Las Vegas or Chicago.
In 2020, he took the step of exporting the Jaleo concept to Dubai, testing new openings in other parts of the world. The group also has an open office in Barcelona, where it has a trusted chef, Carles Tejedor, with whom it prepared some of the dishes for two of the menus he signed for the leaders who participated in the NATO summitone at the Palacio de Santa Cruz and the other at the Museo del Prado, where he had the opportunity to address the heads of state and presidents of government.
During the aforementioned summit, has had a great role: In addition to having lunch with the American first lady, Jill Biden, at El Qüenco de Pepa, he showed her and Queen Letizia the Ukrainian refugee center in Pozuelo de Alarcón, where a World Central Kitchen van is installed, the solidarity association with which it provides food to thousands of victims in food and social emergencies, and whose initiative was awarded last year with the Princess of Asturias Award for Concord. Last Thursday afternoon he spoke with CincoDías.
What did you say during the Prado dinner to the NATO leaders?
The message I wanted to convey is that food is a national security issue. It goes beyond health. Right now, if Ukraine’s grain doesn’t come out of there, there’s going to be a famine. People don’t want to leave their homes, but if they are hungry they will. What happens in Melilla, in Texas, in Haiti, has to do with that. People do not want to invade countries, but to feed their people. Food is important. For NATO it is important to talk about weapons, but the great war that must be waged is against hunger, we must avoid massive migrations, for which we must invest in social issues, in agriculture, in generating wealth in rural areas and poorest.
Is it necessary to collect more taxes to invest in social policies?
The important thing is how we invest those taxes in a more logical way, because not necessarily all the political aid that is approved ends up reverting to society. We can put all the money in the United Nations, but we have to see if it is able to invest this aid well. The United Nations invests in Africa, but there are African countries with agrarian policies that have not been developed. Right now if the grain from Ukraine does not reach Africa in these countries they will go hungry. The great speeches need to be supported by tangible realities, and the policies that are applied must have the effect that is needed. Poverty and hunger lead to mass migrations. Governments are like big companies, they have to be there to generate wealth. Lowering taxes can generate employment and wealth, and the important thing is how those taxes are used, how citizens’ money is managed. And what must be avoided is the mismanagement of the funds that are dedicated to social policies.
World Central Kitchen kitchens have become a social phenomenon.
We are a very small organization, only 80 people. I am one more volunteer and I go on many missions. We were the first to arrive in Afghanistan, we have been in Mozambique, in Bangladesh; now in Ukraine we are giving 1.2 million meals a day, and we will have given more than 75 million meals since the war began, and what we help is to create distribution systems. In Ukraine there are 15 million people who have become refugees, and this has generated social chaos, which is why it is necessary to have a structure and be able to manage these types of problems. I have had the opportunity to speak with Biden, with Macron or with Erdogan to convey the speech that food must be important within their policies. The message is not mine, I represent small and large organizations that are on the battlefield.
Does it serve as an example to other cooks?
We cooks feed a few, but we can feed a few. We feed people in normal situations in our restaurants, we also have the same commitment in emergency situations. I am a boy who keeps learning. When I arrived by boat to the Ukraine, since it was the only way to get there, the only thing that mattered to me was how I could help, as now the important thing is how an agreement can be reached to get the grain out of the Ukraine so that it reaches Africa. I dedicate a lot of time to this topic, I am learning, connecting points to solve problems on the ground.
Once he leaves the battlefield, he leads a different kind of life in the United States as a businessman. Is it easy to change hats?
Life goes on. My life is what leads me to deal with these issues. At World Central Kitchen I don’t fight hunger, we go in emergencies, as we have the staff and resources to do so. For example, we went to cover the needs of the countries to which the Afghan refugees arrived. All this will end up being bigger because we put pressure on the big organizations with billions of budgets.
How much money have they invested in Ukraine?
Between one million and two million dollars a day. Everything comes from private donations. We show what we do live, we are not like others who announce what they are going to do. We serve about 7,000 people from the 1,400 refugee centers in Ukraine. We are in all parts of Ukraine, feeding those who need it, hearing explosions around us, even our kitchens were bombed, but we continue to be active.
His name sounds for Nobel Peace Prize.
I don’t think for a second about that. There are many men and women who bring hope to those who need it. I am a young man, 52 years old, eager to learn what the real solutions are, the new recipes to end problems.
#José #Andrés #Food #matter #national #security