Named one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” in both 2012 and 2018, and awarded the 2015 National Humanities Medal, José Andrés is an internationally-recognized culinary innovator, New York Times best-selling author, educator, humanitarian, and chef/owner of ThinkFoodGroup. A pioneer of Spanish tapas in the United States, he has been recognized as “Outstanding Chef” and “Humanitarian of the Year” by the James Beard Foundation and is known for his groundbreaking avant-garde cuisine and his award-winning group of 31 restaurants located throughout the country and beyond. As a naturalized citizen originally from Spain, Andrés has been a tireless advocate for immigration reform. In 2010, Andrés formed World Central Kitchen, a non-profit that provides smart solutions to end hunger and poverty by using the power of food to empower communities and strengthen economies. Notably, his team served over 3.7 million meals to the people of Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, an experience about which he wrote the bestselling book We Fed An Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time. World Central Kitchen’s food first responders have continued to deploy to natural disasters in California, Guatemala, North Carolina, Indonesia, and Colombia, reaching 8 million meals served and counting.
