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Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/68592
Q&A A Gift from Spain BY DENISE SHOUKAS O ne of Time magazine's Most Interesting People in the World in 2012, chef José Andrés is also one of the most influential. The internationally recog- nized culinary innovator is a passionate advocate for food and hunger issues, author of two books and chef/owner of ThinkFoodGroup, which oversees his award-winning restau- rants, including Jaleo and minibar. Here, Andrés talks about working for Ferran Adrià, the ingredient he always has on hand at home and his newest charitable venture— World Central Kitchen. How did your time working for Ferran Adrià at El Q Bulli influence your approach to food? Adrià was not afraid of anything. He loved tradition—and always told us to challenge it. We were always cooking from old traditional cookbooks, and he inspired us to understand the past, but at the same time he said the only reason you need to know the past is to challenge it, because maybe the way things were done before are not the ways to cook moving forward. If it makes sense, keep doing it. If it doesn't make sense, change it. We don't have to be slaves to the past. When and why did you decide to come to America? From very young, I was fascinated by the United States. I grew up watching NBA games and watching American movies. And then I was in the navy and saw America for the first time as a sailor. A few months after I got home, I was asked to come to America to help open a restaurant [an outpost of El Dorado Petit in Barcelona]. I was supposed to be here for six months to a year. How would you describe your philosophy or approach to food? It's difficult to analyze it. I have anything from the most affordable way of feeding people to 182 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com PHOTOS: JASON VARNEY