Page 32 - aruba-today-20190928

A32 FEATURE
Saturday 28 September 2019
When disaster strikes, Chef Jose Andres is on the ground

By LEANNE ITALIE to leave. On Friday, World
Associated Press Central announced a new
NEW YORK (AP) — After Climate Disaster Fund with
earthquakes, as hurricanes the goal of raising $50 mil-
blow and drench, when lion to make its efforts even
wildfires chew through more nimble and adapt-
neighborhoods and vol- able hour by hour, a par-
canoes spew deadly lava, ticular necessity when un-
look for a gregarious chef foreseen issues arise.
toting huge and mighty pa- In the Bahamas, the hotel
ella pans. where they had planned
His name is Jose Andres, to stage food distribu-
and he might just be tion in Abaco was heavily
changing some rules on damaged, forcing them to
how expedient food relief cook about 100 miles (160
is distributed to victims of kilometers) to the south in
disaster when they need Nassau and fly in the food.
it the most: Now, not days The majority of World Cen-
from now. tral’s funding comes from
The frank-talking Spaniard individual donors offering
is a celebrity chef with two $10 or less. The organization
James Beard awards, near- has a full-time staff of 25
ly three dozen restaurants and a broader circle of re-
and four Michelin stars in his This Sept. 12, 2019 photo released by David Martensen shows chef Jose Andres plotting food serves, including a network
hip pocket. He also found- delivery points on a map of the Bahamas in the World Central Kitchen headquarters kitchen on of cooks and other volun-
ed a nonprofit, World Cen- Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas, in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian. teers willing to pack up and
tral Kitchen, that has served Associated Press head out on a moment’s
nearly 10 million meals on disaster’s onset, island hop- While in town for the United es as a “first food respond- notice.
the front line of emergen- ping by helicopter as the Nations’ annual gathering er.” He plans to return to But key, said World Cen-
cies since the 2010 earth- stubborn storm churned for of world leaders, Andres, the Bahamas as soon as he tral’s executive director
quake in Haiti and, most hours. “I believe in the pow- 50, is doing what he can to can. The work of his orga- Nate Mook, is working with
recently, in the Bahamas. er of cooks like me coming spread the message that nization, and many other local people in hard-hit
“I cannot have my fancy together to fix a problem food relief needs to be free small non-governmental communities to help plan
restaurants and enjoy life that the big NGOs and big of the constraints of bu- players like it, isn’t cheap. and untangle logistics, and
and just stay home and governments are highly reaucracy and institutional World Central purchases to procure equipment and
watch TV when people are unprepared to respond to, red tape. all its food and gets around transport as cooking and
hungry and thirsty,” Andres which is the most important Andres met with former using whatever means food distribution ramp up.
told The Associated Press moment, one hour after President Bill Clinton, like- necessary, whether yacht, “They know best what the
from New York, fresh from the emergency happens,” minded philanthropists seaplane, helicopter or needs are,” Mook said.
nearly three weeks of dis- Andres said Tuesday. “It’s and Caribbean leaders this truck. They’re often the “We hire local chefs and
tributing food and clean the urgency of now.” week about his experienc- first to arrive and the last others to work with us be-
water in the Bahamas. cause they know how best
He and his small organiza- to leverage what resources
tion often do it with the there are on the ground.”
help of local cooks, via World Central doesn’t want
field kitchens using nothing to double down on efforts
more than propane tanks, already underway. It looks
the giant cast iron pans of for holes and heads straight
his homeland and large to them. As relief turns to
containers built to keep clean up and reconstruc-
thousands of hot meals tion, World Central trains
warm for hours at a time. local people to continue
They did it in Puerto Rico to help feed their commu-
after Hurricane Maria. They nities. In Haiti, the organi-
did it in Texas, South Caroli- zation created a culinary
na and Southern California. school in Port-au-Prince,
They’ve done it in the Do- complete with a world-
minican Republic, Nicara- class, professional kitchen
gua, Zambia, Peru, Cuba, and a full dining room for
Uganda, Indonesia, Mo- hosting events.
zambique and Cambodia. Andres, choking up at
Andres and World Central times as he described the
Kitchen made their way to devastation in the Baha-
the Bahamas before Hurri- mas, is in it for the long haul
cane Dorian hit land, enlist- as he strives to improve the
ing the help of the Nassau way “zero hour” relief is
resort Atlantis, Paradise Is- handled.
land, that lent its industrial- “We need a major over-
size kitchen as home base. haul,” he said. “The future
They provided hot meals, of relief must include NGOs
sandwiches, fresh fruit and This Sept. 6, 2019 photo released by Amilcar Navarro shows chef Jose Andres distributing food at that are highly specialized.
water in the hardest hit ar- the Marsh Harbour Government Complex in Abaco, Bahamas, in the wake of Hurricane Dorian. It’s about less talking and
eas to the north from the Associated Press more doing.”q