José Andrés was appointed Co-Chair of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition on March 23, 2022, for a 2-year term.
Mr. Andrés is an internationally recognized culinary innovator, New York Times bestselling author, educator, and humanitarian. He was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in both 2012 and 2018 and was awarded the 2015 National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama. As the chef and owner of the award-winning ThinkFoodGroup restaurant collective, Andrés has been a pioneer of Spanish tapas in the United States and is also known for his groundbreaking avant-garde cuisine. In 2010, Andrés formed World Central Kitchen (WCK), a nonprofit that uses the power of food to nourish communities and strengthen economies in times of crisis. His team served over 3.6 million meals to the people of Puerto Rico following Hurricane María. Since then, WCK has been activated on 6 continents, serving tens of millions of fresh meals in the aftermath of both natural and manmade disasters. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization partnered with thousands of restaurants, farmers, and community leaders around the country to combat food and nutrition insecurity, laying the groundwork for a smarter national food policy — one that builds longer tables in the United States and around the world. Currently, Andrés and WCK are working in Ukraine and 4 neighboring countries, feeding refugees who have fled their homes. Andrés also currently serves as Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Food and Nutrition Security Task Force, was named Washington Business Journal’s CEO of the Year in 2020 for his leadership and impact on the global business community during the COVID-19 pandemic, and was awarded the Princesa de Asturias Foundation’s 2021 Concordia Prize for WCK’s humanitarian work. As a naturalized citizen originally from Spain, Andrés has also been a tireless advocate for immigration reform.
