José Andrés
Known as one of the most active proponents of Spanish gastronomy and America’s finest tapas wizard, José Andrés is a Spanish-born, Washington, D.C.-based chef. Andrés operates over a dozen restaurants throughout the U.S., including three that hold two Michelin stars - Jaleo, Bazaar, and Minibar.
José Andrés's Beginnings
After studying catering in Barcelona, Andrés began to work professionally as a chef in elBulli with his maestro Ferran Adrià who instilled professionalism and creativity in him. After moving to the United States, he started shadowing Carmelo Bocos in El Cid, a restaurant in New York that has recently shut its doors permanently. Andrés went on to explain what a good Spanish tapas restaurant on American soil should offer and eventually made it to Washington D.C. to work with Rob Wilder and Roberto Alvarez - two chefs who helped him develop the Think Food Group LLC.
José Andrés Moving Up As Head Chef of the kitchen at Jaleo, he created one of the first critically and commercially successful tapas restaurants in the country, raising and resetting the threshold for other Spanish restaurants to follow. From that point on, he started expanding and introducing new restaurants all over the U.S. which brought out the beautiful gastronomical component of Spanish food.
Andrés' drive to culminate Spanish products in the U.S. peaked when he travelled all around Spain filming a series of 26 programs to highlight landscapes, recipes and typical products of the country. In 2006, he received recognition from the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington as Chef of the Year and is currently one of the managers of the DC Central Kitchen Foundation.
Awards of José Andrés
In November 2010, Andrés was awarded the prestigious Order of Arts and Letter medallion by Spain's Ministry of Culture to honor his efforts to showcase the Spanish culture abroad. Then, in May 2011, he won one of the most prestigious culinary awards in the U.S - the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef.
One of his last projects to come alive has been José Andrés Foods which brings a hand-selected assortment of Spanish culinary products to the American marketplace. He was officially nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Democratic Congressman John Delaney in recognition of his efforts to use culinary practices in the humanitarian field to help keep society fed.
We look forward to seeing Andrés's next developments in the food and humanitarian departments.