José Andrés thrives on innovation. Since the age of 23, when he opened his first restaurant, Jaleo, the Spanish chef has been slowing building a small plates empire. Today, his company ThinkFoodGroup operates multiple concepts—from authentic Spanish tapas at Jaleo and the Bazaar by José Andrés, a collaboration with sbe that melds Spanish flavors with cutting-edge techniques, to Mexican bites at Oyamel and Mediterranean eats at Zaytinya—in Washington, DC, Las Vegas, South Beach, and most recently in Baltimore and Mexico City. Some of his most successful are intimate chef dining experiences tucked away in his bigger restaurants.
Next up: his New York debut in the SLS hotel, the second location for Zaytinya just outside of Dallas, and he will be one of the high-profile chefs opening a restaurant in New York’s upcoming mixed-use development Hudson Yards. He has won numerous awards (including a James Beard), joined former President Obama’s delegation to Cuba, and is an author, TV personality, and teacher. He also finds time to give back with World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit he founded that focuses on smart solutions for hunger and poverty through health, education, and jobs in Haiti, Zambia, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and the U.S. Here, he talks patience and paella, the power of storytelling, and how bigger isn’t always better.
Did you always know you wanted to be a chef?
I always have wanted to be a cook. It was really the first thing I thought I would do. When I was 15, I left school to go to cooking school, and then was enlisted to be a cook in the Spanish Navy, at first for the admiral, and then on a ship [the Juan Sebastián de Elcano] that traveled around the world, including [bringing me] to America for the first time.
What are some of your first memories of cooking?
One was with my father, who was making paella for my family and friends. He told me to tend the fire, but I wanted to be stirring the paella. I got very frustrated, but my father did not do this to be mean, he was teaching me a lesson. It is necessary to learn how to control the fire before you can really understand how to cook—a lesson I have not forgotten to this day.
Who are your mentors?
My first mentor was the great chef Ferran Adrià. He is always so creative and doing things completely different, and I learned so much from him. I worked for him starting when I was 17 [at elBulli in Roses, Spain]; he was 23 and remains one of my closest friends to this day.
What have been some of your greatest lessons learned?
Do not be afraid of failure—in the kitchen and in life. [There’s a famous saying], ‘Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.’ I believe this deeply, and keep it in mind every time my team and I are opening new restaurants and launching new ideas.
You have been called the father of the small plates revolution—why do you think your type of cooking resonated so much with guests?
Tapas is not just serving a lot of small dishes to a group of people, but also a way of enjoying life. Sharing allows for a greater sense of intimacy—everyone around the table can have a bite and try a few different things, which creates conversation and brings everyone together.
Where does design come into play in your spaces?
I always say, I don’t just open restaurants, I tell stories, and the design is an integral part of each story. For many of my restaurants, I have worked with the Spanish architect and designer Juli Capella to help me tell those stories and create a distinct atmosphere in each restaurant.
How did the fast casual, vegetable-centric Beefsteak come about?
To me, vegetables deserve to be at the center of the plate, and that is why I created Beefsteak. I see more and more that vegetables are selling very well at my other restaurants, so I thought we could succeed with good, hearty, inexpensive, vegetable-forward food. And with the fast casual idea, or as I call it, fast good, we can bring this delicious food to more people.
China Chilcano in DC is your first Peruvian eatery. What did you want to create with this restaurant?
To be honest, we originally were not going to have this [be a] Peruvian restaurant. But my team and I took a trip to Peru and everything changed. We were so excited by the flavors, the freshness, the ingredients, and the fascinating history of immigration from China and Japan to the country.
Minibar, é by José Andrés, and SAAM: these are intimate foodie havens. How did you come up with these concepts?
My original Minibar was exactly that, a small six-person chef’s counter located at a bar within my restaurant Café Atlantico [in DC]. It was a place for my team to be playful and innovative, to really let their creativity shine. I wanted to recreate that feeling in my other restaurants, which is how é [by Jaleo at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas] and SAAM [at the Bazaar at the SLS Beverly Hills] came about.
Besides DC, what other cities do you think have a great food scene?
I will always love the food scene in Spain, in Barcelona and San Sebastián especially. My home of Asturias has some amazing chefs, like Marcos Morán from Casa Gerardo. I am also excited about the food in Japan—Hokkaido has such incredible seafood and dairy products, and Tokyo of course has the best sushi in
the world.
What do diners want today?
Diners are craving authenticity, and that is what I am trying to provide every day at all of my restaurants. It is our job to tell stories, and the best stories are from the heart.
What is your favorite dish to cook at home?
It is called sopa de ajo, a garlic soup thickened with old bread. It is a dish that my mother grew up making at the end of the month, when our pantry was empty. We always had garlic in the house, and leftover bread, and then all you need is some pimentón and water, and that’s it—though you can add an egg to make it richer.
Why is Undiscovered Haiti, a PBS show where you explore the food of the Caribbean country, a passion project for you?
My hope with Undiscovered Haiti was to show the Haiti I have been able to see over more than 20 visits to the country—for American viewers to see the energy, the life, the spirit, and, of course, the wonderful food of the country.
The Twitter Food Council brings together leading culinary figures to talk about all things food and culture. Why did you want to be part of that?
Twitter is such an incredible universe of chefs, farmers, activists, and so many other fascinating people. I love to share photos of my travels, and look at pictures and news from my friends as well—it always gives me inspiration. The Food Council is a way to bring many of these conversations together in one place, all with the hashtag #foodflock.
