How chef José Andrés feeds America
José Andrés is one of the most recognizable chefs in the world. The recipient of four Michelin stars, he owns more than 30 restaurants around the globe and has twice appeared on Time Magazine's list of the "100 most influential people."
Andrés is no stranger to 60 Minutes. Correspondent Anderson Cooper began following his story in 2010 when the Spanish born chef was experimenting with molecular gastronomy.
In 2017, Cooper interviewed Andrés in Puerto Rico where his non-profit organization, World Central Kitchen, was dishing out thousands of meals after Hurricane Maria.
This week on the broadcast, Cooper follows Andrés in New York City and Washington D.C., two of more than 50 cities in the U.S. where World Central Kitchen is helping serve free meals during the coronavirus pandemic.
When 60 Minutes first met José Andrés in 2010, he was using molecular gastronomy to serve liquid nitrogen popcorn and New England clam chowder mousse.
Correspondent Anderson Cooper and producer Bill Owens got a front-row view to Andrés' culinary laboratory at "minibar," his six-seat Washington, D.C. restaurant.
"One of the things we are trying to do today is to make sure that we are able to feed people maximum flavor with a minimum quantity of food," Andrés told Cooper in 2010.
Although Andrés has achieved vast commercial success, he continues to give back to the world through volunteer work.
In 2010, he and his wife Patricia founded World Central Kitchen. The non-profit provides meals in disaster stricken areas.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Cooper and producers Tanya Simon and Magalie Laguerre-Wilkinson found Andrés in Puerto Rico where he and his team at World Central Kitchen produced and distributed nearly four million meals across the island.
"I arrived Monday right after the hurricane," Andrés said to Cooper in 2017. "And I asked who is in charge of feeding the people of Puerto Rico? And they told me, everybody. Everybody's in charge. You know, when you have to feed an entire island, you need to have one person and one organization responsible."
Many of the lessons Andrés learned from covering the natural disaster in Puerto Rico he is applying today as the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic.
60 Minutes airs Sunday 7 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.