Jose Andres is the Spanish-American chef, restaurateur and humanitarian behind the Jose Andres Group (formerly ThinkFoodGroup) and World Central Kitchen, the disaster-relief non-profit that delivered more than 109 million meals in 2024 alone. Born Jose Ramon Andres Puerta on 13 July 1969 in Mieres in the Asturias region of northern Spain, Andres trained at the Escuela de Restauracion y Hosteleria de Barcelona and apprenticed under Ferran Adria at elBulli in Cala Montjoi from 1987 to 1990 before moving to the United States in 1991 at age 21.
Andres opened Jaleo in Washington, D.C. in 1993 and has since built a restaurant group of more than 30 venues across Washington, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Chicago, Orlando and Dubai, with his tasting-menu flagship minibar by Jose Andres holding two Michelin stars continuously. The group rebranded as the Jose Andres Group in 2023. In 2025 Bazaar Meat relocated from the SLS Las Vegas to the Palazzo at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, and Bazaar-brand expansion continues into Washington D.C., Chicago and New York. World Central Kitchen, founded by Andres in 2010 after the Haiti earthquake, operated in more than 20 crisis zones in 2024-2025 including Gaza, Ukraine, and North Carolina (post-Hurricane Helene).
TL;DR
- Spanish-American chef born 13 July 1969 in Mieres, Asturias, Spain
- Trained under Ferran Adria at elBulli (1987-1990)
- Emigrated to USA 1991; opened Jaleo in Washington D.C. in 1993
- Jose Andres Group: 30+ restaurants; minibar holds two Michelin stars
- Founded World Central Kitchen 2010; 109+ million meals delivered in 2024 alone
- 2025: Bazaar Meat relocated to The Palazzo at The Venetian Las Vegas
Jose Andres key facts
| Born | 13 July 1969, Mieres, Asturias, Spain |
| Full name | Jose Ramon Andres Puerta |
| Nationality | Spanish-American (US citizen since 2013) |
| Training | Escuela de Restauracion y Hosteleria de Barcelona; elBulli under Ferran Adria (1987-1990) |
| Group | Jose Andres Group (formerly ThinkFoodGroup); 30+ restaurants globally |
| Flagship | minibar by Jose Andres, Washington, D.C. (two Michelin stars) |
| Non-profit | World Central Kitchen (founded 2010); 109+ million meals in 2024 |
Early life and training of Jose Andres
Andres was born on 13 July 1969 in Mieres, a mining town in the Asturias region of northern Spain. His father Mariano was a nurse and his mother Marisa was also a nurse; the family moved to Barcelona when Andres was five, and he grew up in the working-class neighborhoods of the Catalan capital. He has described childhood weekends cooking paella with his father over wood fires on the Barcelona mountainside as the single most formative culinary experience of his life. At 15 he enrolled at the Escuela de Restauracion y Hosteleria de Barcelona, the city’s leading hospitality school.
In 1987, at age 18, Andres apprenticed at elBulli in Cala Montjoi on the Costa Brava under Ferran Adria, who had just become head chef. He spent three years at elBulli during the critical period when Adria was developing the avant-garde techniques that would define Spanish gastronomy in the 1990s and 2000s. Andres has credited Adria repeatedly in interviews as the single most important influence on his career, and the elBulli training shaped his later approach to avant-garde cooking at minibar in Washington, D.C.
In 1990 Andres completed his Spanish military service, and in 1991 at age 21 he moved to New York City with 50 US dollars in his pocket. He cooked at El Dorado Petit and other New York Spanish restaurants before moving to Washington, D.C. in 1993 to open Jaleo, a tapas restaurant in Penn Quarter, as executive chef. Jaleo was one of the first serious Spanish tapas restaurants in the United States and quickly became a Washington institution. The restaurant has been continuously open since and remains in operation in 2026.
Jose Andres career timeline
- 13 July 1969: Born in Mieres, Asturias, Spain
- Mid-1970s: Family moves to Barcelona
- 1984: Enrolls at Escuela de Restauracion y Hosteleria de Barcelona
- 1987-1990: Apprentices at elBulli under Ferran Adria
- 1990: Spanish military service
- 1991: Moves to New York City at age 21
- 1993: Opens Jaleo in Washington, D.C. (tapas)
- 1998: Opens Cafe Atlantico in Washington (Latin American)
- 2003: Opens minibar by Jose Andres (tasting-menu fine dining, initially 6 seats)
- 2005: Publishes Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America
- 2008: Opens The Bazaar by Jose Andres at SLS Beverly Hills
- 2010: Founds World Central Kitchen in response to the Haiti earthquake
- 2013: Becomes US citizen
- 2014: minibar earns first Michelin star
- 2017: WCK operates in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, delivering 3.7+ million meals
- 2017: minibar earns two Michelin stars
- 2018: Publishes We Fed An Island about the Puerto Rico response
- 2019: Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize (first of multiple nominations)
- 2022: WCK operates at scale in Ukraine from the first week of the Russian invasion
- April 2024: Seven WCK workers killed in Israeli airstrike in Gaza; international outcry
- 2024: WCK delivers 109+ million meals globally across multiple crisis zones
- 2023-2024: ThinkFoodGroup rebrands as Jose Andres Group
- 2024: Hurricane Helene response in North Carolina through WCK
- 2025: Bazaar Meat relocates from SLS Las Vegas to The Palazzo at The Venetian Resort
- 2025-2026: Bazaar-brand expansion into Washington D.C., Chicago, New York; 2 Michelin stars retained at minibar
Jose Andres signature style: Spanish cooking, avant-garde technique, humanitarian action
Andres’s central culinary argument is that Spanish regional cooking, translated through the avant-garde technique he learned at elBulli, is a legitimate three-register category in American dining: tapas at the casual level (Jaleo), avant-garde small plates (The Bazaar), and fine-dining tasting menus (minibar). The three-register Jose Andres Group model has run since the 1990s and has demonstrated that Spanish regional cooking can occupy every tier of American hospitality. The two Michelin stars at minibar validate the approach at the fine-dining level, and the Jaleo and Bazaar expansions validate it at scale.
The second defining element is World Central Kitchen. Founded in 2010 after the Haiti earthquake, WCK has become one of the most effective disaster-relief organisations in the world, delivering meals in Puerto Rico (Hurricane Maria, 2017), the Bahamas (Hurricane Dorian, 2019), Australia (2019-2020 bushfires), Ukraine (since February 2022 Russian invasion), Gaza (ongoing, including the April 2024 Israeli airstrike that killed seven WCK workers), and North Carolina (Hurricane Helene, 2024). In 2024 alone WCK delivered more than 109 million meals globally. The argument that chefs can operate at the scale of major humanitarian agencies is the WCK project in a sentence, and it has been validated at operational scale for 15 years.
The third pillar is public voice. Andres has testified before the US Congress on food policy, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize multiple times, and written three major books including Made in Spain (2008), We Fed An Island (2018) about the Puerto Rico response, and Vegetables Unleashed (2019). His public role sits alongside Alice Waters on food-policy advocacy, though in a dramatically different register. Roy Choi‘s LocoL project and David Chang‘s Momofuku work occupy adjacent territory in food access and chef social responsibility.
Notable dishes at Jose Andres Group
Several Andres dishes have become reference points in American Spanish dining. The Jaleo patatas bravas (fried potato cubes with smoked paprika sauce and alioli) has been the defining tapas signature since 1993. The Jamon Iberico with Pan con Tomate, the gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp), and the Spanish tortilla at Jaleo are long-running tapas signatures. At The Bazaar, the Philly cheesesteak (air bread and liquid cheddar), the olive oil gel caviar, and the elBulli-inspired olive spheres reference the Ferran Adria training directly. At minibar, the 20-30 course tasting menu rotates seasonally with heavy use of avant-garde technique. Andres books include Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America (2005), Made in Spain (2008), Jaleo Cookbook (2015), We Fed An Island (2018), and Vegetables Unleashed (2019).
Jose Andres awards and recognition
- 2003: James Beard Foundation Rising Star Chef of the Year
- 2010: Founds World Central Kitchen
- 2011: James Beard Foundation Outstanding Chef
- 2012: Time 100 Most Influential People (first of multiple)
- 2014: First Michelin star at minibar
- 2015: National Humanities Medal (USA)
- 2017: minibar earns two Michelin stars; WCK Puerto Rico response delivers 3.7+ million meals
- 2018: James Beard Humanitarian of the Year
- 2019: First Nobel Peace Prize nomination (for WCK)
- 2022: Asturias Prize for Concord (Spain); Princess of Asturias Award
- 2023: Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden
- 2024: WCK delivers 109+ million meals globally; seven WCK workers killed in Gaza airstrike
- 2025: Bazaar Meat relocates to The Palazzo at The Venetian Las Vegas; minibar retains two Michelin stars
Jose Andres impact on American cooking and humanitarian work
Andres’s most concrete contribution is World Central Kitchen and the reshaping of disaster-response food operations. Since 2010 WCK has delivered meals in more than 20 crisis zones, from Haiti and Puerto Rico to Ukraine, Gaza and North Carolina, and in 2024 alone delivered more than 109 million meals. The April 2024 Israeli airstrike that killed seven WCK workers in Gaza made WCK’s humanitarian work an international political question and expanded the public conversation about chef-led humanitarian action.
The second contribution is Spanish regional cooking in the United States. Before Jaleo opened in 1993, serious Spanish tapas restaurants were rare in the American market, and the Ferran Adria avant-garde tradition had no American presence at all. Andres brought both registers into the American market and kept them operating continuously across 30 years. The Jose Andres Group now operates more than 30 restaurants across the US and internationally, with minibar’s two Michelin stars as the fine-dining anchor.
The third contribution is the Ferran Adria training lineage. Andres trained under Ferran Adria at elBulli from 1987 to 1990 and has carried that training into American fine dining for 30 years. Within the elBulli diaspora he occupies adjacent territory to David Chang on chef-as-media-figure questions and Roy Choi on chef-led social action, though in a dramatically larger scale.
Jose Andres FAQ
What is World Central Kitchen?
World Central Kitchen (WCK) is the disaster-relief non-profit Andres founded in 2010 after the Haiti earthquake. WCK delivers meals in disaster zones and conflict areas, and in 2024 alone delivered more than 109 million meals globally across operations in Gaza, Ukraine, North Carolina (post-Hurricane Helene) and more than 20 other crisis zones. Andres has been nominated multiple times for the Nobel Peace Prize for WCK’s work.
How many Michelin stars does minibar have?
Two Michelin stars at minibar by Jose Andres in Washington, D.C., held since 2017 and retained in the 2026 Michelin Guide Washington, D.C. The restaurant opened in 2003 originally with only 6 seats and has expanded modestly since. It is the Andres group’s fine-dining anchor.
Where did Jose Andres train?
At the Escuela de Restauracion y Hosteleria de Barcelona from age 15, and then under Ferran Adria at elBulli in Cala Montjoi from 1987 to 1990. The three-year elBulli apprenticeship during the critical period when Adria was developing the Spanish avant-garde shaped Andres’s entire later approach to cooking.
How many restaurants does Andres operate?
More than 30 venues globally through the Jose Andres Group (formerly ThinkFoodGroup), across Washington D.C., Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Chicago, Orlando and Dubai. Key restaurants include minibar (two Michelin stars), Jaleo (multiple locations), The Bazaar, Zaytinya, Bazaar Meat and China Chilcano.
What happened to WCK workers in Gaza?
In April 2024 seven World Central Kitchen workers were killed in an Israeli airstrike while delivering food aid in Gaza. The incident prompted international outcry, an Israeli government investigation, and a major pause in WCK’s Gaza operations. WCK has since resumed operations in the region under modified security protocols and continues to deliver meals in Gaza, Ukraine, and other crisis zones.
What is next for Jose Andres
The 2025 relocation of Bazaar Meat to The Palazzo at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, the Bazaar brand expansion into Washington D.C., Chicago and New York, and the ongoing World Central Kitchen operations in more than 20 crisis zones continue the Jose Andres Group and WCK projects at full scale. His public Instagram (@chefjoseandres) is the best source for current updates across both the restaurant group and WCK.
