In 2010, Chef José Andrés, ready to use his culinary knowledge and talent to help, headed to Haiti following a devastating earthquake. Cooking alongside displaced families in a camp, he was guided on the proper way to cook black beans the way Haitians like to eat them: mashed and sieved into a creamy sauce. It wasn’t just about feeding people in need—it was about listening, learning, and cooking side by side with the people impacted by the crisis. This is the real meaning of comfort food, and it’s the core value that José, along with his wife Patricia, used at the center of founding World Central Kitchen.
"When you need medical service, you bring doctors and nurses. When you need the rebuilding of infrastructure, you bring in engineers and architects. And if you have to feed people, you need professional chefs".
José Andrés
WCK Founder & Chief Feeding Officer
For seven years after José founded World Central Kitchen, the organization would focus on resilience programs, investing in longer-term solutions around food in the Caribbean and Central America. With roots in Haiti, WCK began a Clean Cooking program to support communities’ transition away from cooking over dangerous open wood- and coal-fueled fires. After several years, José and WCK built and opened École des Chefs, a culinary school in Port-au-Prince under the direction of Mi-Sol Chevallier—one of Haiti’s most respected chefs.
(https://wck.org/story)