The ISRI2021 Main Stage will welcome José Andrés, an internationally recognized culinary innovator, author, educator, and humanitarian. Andrés is also the chef/owner of ThinkFoodGroup, the company behind his group of restaurants. Its singular mission is to change the world through the power of food.
Known for his groundbreaking avant-garde cuisine, as well as his award-winning group of nearly three dozen restaurants located throughout the country and beyond, Andrés is a committed advocate of food and hunger issues. He also champions the role of chefs in the national debate on food policy.
In 2010, Andrés formed World Central Kitchen, a non-profit that specializes in delivering food relief in the wake of natural and humanitarian disasters. World Central Kitchen served nearly four million meals to the people of Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. The non-profit has since responded to dozens of disasters across the world, and in the process, distributed tens of millions of meals. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, World Central Kitchen has partnered with restaurants, small farms, and community leaders across the U.S. to combat food insecurity.
A naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Spain, Andrés has been a tireless advocate for immigration reform. In 2014, President Barack Obama named Andrés that year’s “Outstanding American by Choice.”
In 2012 and 2018, Andrés was named one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People.” Andrés also received the 2015 National Humanities Medal, as well as the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Chef and Humanitarian of the Year awards.
To hear Andrés speak during ISRI2021, register here.
