World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers have been feeding people in need for years, in places around the world affected by conflict, poverty or natural disasters. Seven of them died this Tuesday when they were hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.
According to this non-governmental organization, the aid workers were hit by Israeli projectiles when they were leaving a warehouse in Deir al-Balah, “a non-conflict area” of Gaza, where Israel has been carrying out an offensive for months in response to the attacks that The Palestinian militia Hamas carried out attacks in the south of the country on October 7.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that an “involuntary” attack by the Israeli army had killed “innocent people” and a military spokesman conveyed his condolences for what happened in a video message and assured that his “tragic death” is being investigated. .
Founder of the NGO “heartbroken and afflicted”
The founder of WCK, Spanish chef José Andrés, declared himself “heartbroken and saddened” by the loss of some aid workers whom he defined as “angels,” and demanded that the Israeli government put an end to the “indiscriminate killing” in Gaza.
“You have to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and humanitarian workers and stop using food as a weapon,” the Spanish chef said on his X account.
But who is José Andrés and how has his NGO become synonymous with food and relief for the weakest.
Much more than food
José Andrés founded WCK in 2010, after traveling to Haiti after the earthquake that devastated it in 2010, and contributing to the care of those affected.
Since then, their project has not stopped growing and, although at first it focused on long-term food programs, it now focuses on providing quality food to the population in areas affected by disasters of different natures in different parts of the world.
Thus, Andrés and his collaborators were in Puerto Rico after Hurricane María in 2017 and in Ukraine after the Russian invasion in 2022. Now they were trying to alleviate the situation in Gaza, where the UN has warned of the risk of famine among the Palestinians within the framework of the Israeli war against Hamas.
His collaborators have highlighted that the key to WCK’s success is Andrés’ quick reaction capacity and his sensitivity to understanding people’s needs.
Mexican chef Karla Hoyos, who is part of the WCK team, recalled that one of the first things Andrés does when he arrives at a place is contact the local chefs and seek their collaboration to find out what food they like there.
“José would say that he likes paella, but I’m not going to go to Ukraine to give them paella. You have to know what food makes them feel good,” Hoyos explained in an interview with the BBC in 2023.
An elite chef
Before starting WCK, Andrés had already become one of the most respected and successful chefs in the world.
Born in Asturias, in the north of Spain, his family emigrated when he was a child to Barcelona, where he grew up paying attention to what was cooked at home, where, according to his own story, there was not enough money.
“My parents had four children to feed, so it was often good fresh food cooked simply.”
In 1988, Andrés joined the well-known Catalan chef Ferran Adrià at his famous restaurant El Bulli. Adrià became his mentor and he became the great chef he is today. “José has a special talent for gastronomy,” said Adrià.
In 1991, he emigrated to the United States, where together with his partners he opened several restaurants that soon became benchmarks, such as The Bazaar and Zaytinya, and won some of the most notable awards in the culinary world.
In 2013, more than two decades after immigrating, he acquired American citizenship.
In Washington, DC, he met chef Robert Egger, founder of DC Central Kitchen, a charity dedicated to feeding the most marginalized in the US capital, such as ex-prisoners.
World Central Kitchen is born
Inspired by Egger and his work, Andrés launched his philanthropic action through World Central Kitchen, which has given him even more fame and earned him numerous praise from collaborators and colleagues. For Andrés, cooks “have one of the greatest responsibilities in the world.”
“We touch everything: agriculture, work, immigration, the environment, diplomacy, national security. If we don’t use our voices to say something, to help make the world a better place, what are we here for?,” she once said.
That is the spirit that, according to his team, has driven WCK’s action these years and that led former United States President Barack Obama to award him the National Medal of the Humanities in 2015.
Time magazine featured him on one of its covers and Andrés was even proposed as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.
In 2019, one of his employees in New York reported him for not paying her what was stipulated in the law for overtime. He acknowledged “errors” in the way his employees were paid, so that some received more than they should and others less, but he promised to correct them.
According to Marcus Samuelsson, Swedish-Ethiopian chef and television star, Andrés “has the ability wherever he goes to make others feel visible. He can do it in many languages. He can do it even in languages he doesn’t speak, because he has an emotional connection with people.”
WCK was in Gaza despite difficult circumstances
His organization was in Gaza trying to carry out its usual work in the difficult circumstances under which it operates. After the attack, which cost the lives of seven of his collaborators, Andrés joined the chorus of voices denouncing that Israel restricts the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
However, in the past he defended his government’s actions. Last October he demanded the resignation of the Spanish Minister of Social Rights, Ione Belarra, after she accused Israel of committing “war crimes” in Gaza and “genocide” against the Palestinians.
Andrés replied in X that Israel “is defending its citizens” and demanded that the president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, relieve her of her position. “She does not represent me or Spain,” she stated.
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