‘I don’t open a restaurant, I tell a story Chef José Andrés on his singular approach to food

‘I don’t open a restaurant, I tell a story’: Chef José Andrés on his singular approach to food

The Nobel Peace Prize-nominated restaurateur and chef told the BBC’s Katty Kay about his vision for every dish on the plate, and how food should be an oasis and strength for all eternity.

“I don’t open a restaurant, I tell a story,” says José Andrés. “Each of my restaurants is in a way a story.”

The two-Michelin-starred chef has been spinning narratives with food over the past four decades through a portfolio of American restaurants including Jaleo, The Bazaar and mini bars. Along with his world-renowned dishes, Andrés has also used his platform and talents to build World Central Kitchen (WCK), a global supply chain of pop-up meal operations that pop up in emergency disaster zones to provide direct relief.

Andrés spoke to BBC reporter Katty Kay about Influential, his unscripted interview series, which has hosted conversations with guests including culinary and cultural icon Ina Garten, beauty entrepreneur Jane Wurwand and groundbreaking ballet dancer Misty Copeland.

Andrés found his way into food aged 15, when he enrolled in culinary school in his native Spain; at 18, he entered the Spanish army for compulsory service, becoming a cook for the admiral on a boat. The experience took him outside of Europe for the first time, opening his mind to the meaning of collaboration and the possible global impact.

“Military service made me feel that we are part of making our country better, our world better and it also showed me what it means to work as a team,” he told Kay. “When I sailed on that ship, I understood that the wind might be against us, and the current might move us in the wrong direction – but the 300 people together as one, no wave or current could carry us away from our destination. ”

Soon after, Andrés met chef Ferran Adrià of El Bulli, the iconic three-time Michelin star restaurant in Roses, Spain. He spent the next three years in the kitchen at the height of the restaurant’s nearly 50-year run. It helped pave the way for Andrés’ own success when he landed in New York, then moved to Washington DC, amid a burgeoning desire for singular food experiences.

“I’ve been given a lot of credit for making Washington DC a powerhouse, and I did my part when I arrived, but the city is already incredible in cuisine,” he says. “Washington is not seen as a great culinary city compared to other cities, like Chicago and New York, but, in fact, it [is] very powerful.”

Still, Andrés will claim at least some innovation in the culinary space. What sets it apart from the pan-fried fast food scene, he says, is his approach: reflecting a real, emotional experience on every plate. “When someone comes to Jaleo and gets a croqueta, they’re not just eating a dish that’s a very iconic tapa in Spain, they’re eating a dish from the post-Civil War era. If you go deeper, the dish itself can speak to a social and political situation in Spain, war and hunger of low-income families in a more profound way.”

However, at their core, Andrés says his restaurants should be an oasis for diners. “The word [restaurant] has many origins, but one of them is from ‘restoration’ or ‘restoration’. You go to a restaurant to restore yourself, sometimes physically, emotionally and spiritually in the olden days. I believe in a certain way the restaurant is still like that today.”