Paellas for the People

On the podcast: How chef José Andrés feeds the needy around the world.

By , the executive editor for podcasts at Foreign Policy.
The chef José Andrés stirs paella in a giant pan during the #ChefsForPuertoRico relief operation in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in October 2017.
The chef José Andrés stirs paella in a giant pan during the #ChefsForPuertoRico relief operation in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in October 2017.
The chef José Andrés stirs paella in a giant pan during the #ChefsForPuertoRico relief operation in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in October 2017. World Central Kitchen

The Spanish-American chef José Andrés is mostly known for his high-end restaurants, including one in Washington, D.C., that serves just 12 diners at a time.

The Spanish-American chef José Andrés is mostly known for his high-end restaurants, including one in Washington, D.C., that serves just 12 diners at a time.

But Andrés is also the founder of World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit organization that distributes food to needy people around the world. While the Federal Emergency Management Agency was bungling the recovery effort in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria in 2017, Andrés’s team of chefs and locals served millions of meals. He later got into a Twitter spat with President Donald Trump over the casualty toll in Puerto Rico. This year, he showed up at Trump’s State of the Union address in a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Immigrants Feed America.”

Andrés is our guest on the podcast this week.

More from Foreign Policy

Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.
Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.

Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America

The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.

Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.
Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.

The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense

If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.

Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War

Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.

An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.
An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.

How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests

And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.