Humanitarian Chef, Restaurateur & Yes, Chef! Host: All About José Andrés' World-Spanning Career
The chef, restaurateur, and humanitarian will judge the new NBC cooking competition series Yes, Chef! alongside Martha Stewart.
There’s a new cooking competition show coming to NBC, but Yes, Chef! has a twist: On this show, the chefs’ tempers can run as hot as the ovens and stovetops. Hosted by José Andrés and Martha Stewart, Yes, Chef! pits a dozen skilled, highly trained chefs against one another as they attempt to conquer the kitchen and the big egos, intensity, stubbornness, or other personality traits that have held them back from true greatness.
Yes, Chef! will premiere on Monday, April 28 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC following The Voice. Before that, though, get to know its hosts, who are also executive-producing. Chances are, the average viewer is familiar with the lifestyle legend Martha Stewart, but her counterpart and new BFF, celebrity chef and humanitarian José Andrés, also has a stacked résumé that's more than worth exploring. Here’s everything to know about the Yes, Chef! co-host's career.
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Who is José Andrés?
José Ramón Andrés Puerta is a Spanish-American chef, restaurateur, television personality, and humanitarian. He has won several James Beard Awards, a Daytime Emmy, has been named in Time Magazine's "100 Most Influential People" list — twice — and has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He owns several restaurants, most of which are located in the United States. José specializes in small-plate dining and can be partially credited with increasing the popularity of tapas-style meals in America.
In addition to his culinary career, José also founded World Central Kitchen (WCK), a nonprofit organization that provides food relief. Founded in 2010 to respond to the devastating Haiti Earthquake, WCK has since provided resources around the globe following natural disasters or armed conflicts.
“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 said of WCK’s mission on the organization’s website.
José Andrés' Early Life & Career
José Andrés was born in Mieres, Asturias, Spain, on July 13, 1969.
"We weren't wealthy when I was a child, and my mom and dad had four boys to feed, so it was usually about fresh, simply cooked food," José said (per Reporter Gourmet). However, he would soon turn into a gastronomy master and become one of the world's great modern chefs.
José pursued cooking as a profession at a young age, enrolling in culinary school when he was 15. He worked as a chef in several restaurants in Spain — including the renowned restaurant El Bulli — before he moved to the United States in 1991.
Once he arrived in New York City, José began to quickly make a name for himself. In 1993, he got a job leading a kitchen at a Washington, D.C., tapas restaurant. In a decade’s time, he was opening his own restaurants and becoming a big name in the D.C. culinary world and beyond.
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In 2006, José and partner Rob Wilder launched ThinkFoodGroup, the company that oversees all his restaurants and other business ventures.
José became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2003, after 23 years in the country. He maintains a close connection to his Spanish heritage while considering himself a proud American immigrant and champion for immigration reform. “I need to make sure everybody understands that many immigrants like me — given the right opportunity like I was given — we can have a positive impact in this amazing country,” José said (per The Washington Post).
José Andrés' Restaurants
José Andrés owns 16 restaurants, several of which have multiple locations, according to his website.
His “signature” restaurants are minibar (Washington, D.C.), barmini (Washington, D.C.), The Bazaar (Miami Beach, Washington, D.C., and New York City), Bazaar Meat (Las Vegas, Chicago, and soon in Los Angeles), Bar Mar (Chicago and Glendale), Bar Centro (Las Vegas), and Nubeluz (New York City).
His other restaurants include China Chilcano, China Poblano, Fish, Jaleo, Oyamel, Pigtail, San Laurel, Spanish Diner, Zaytinya, Pepe, and Mercado Little Spain.
José Andrés' TV Career
In addition to everything else José Andrés does, he also frequently appears on TV. He hosted a 2008 PBS series, Made in Spain, which highlighted Spanish cooking traditions, and he was a host of Vamos a Cocinar, a Spanish show on Televisión Española that aired from 2005 to 2007. There’s also the Daytime Emmy-winning CNN docuseries José Andrés and Family in Spain, and of course he’ll be the co-host of Yes, Chef! when it premieres in April.
José has appeared as a guest in a ton of cooking shows, including Iron Chef America, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Top Chef, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, Selena + Chef, and Waffles + Mochi.
Amusingly, José has worked with NBC before taking on co-hosting duties for Yes, Chef! He was the food consultant on NBC’s cult-favorite thriller series Hannibal.
“Hannibal loves his food; he doesn’t eat the way a cannibal eats. This I understand,” José told The Hollywood Reporter. “I have a lot of ideas of how Hannibal would be inspired to cook something. The way he cooks is clean. He is stylish, the way he sautés.”
All about Yes, Chef!
Yes, Chef! is a cooking competition series that puts 12 highly skilled chefs, who have been nominated by their bosses, co-workers, friends, and even family, through the ultimate test. These rising stars all have natural talent, but their egos, intensity, stubbornness, or short fuses are holding them back from reaching their full potential.
Enter: Martha Stewart and José Andrés.
With humor and tough love, José and Martha will guide the chefs each week through a series of intense culinary challenges designed to test and overcome their personal issues. In this competition, the chefs will have to prove they have the culinary chops and the right attitude to make it to the end.
RELATED: Martha Stewart & José Andrés Call Out "Diva" Chefs in Yes, Chef! Competition Series
Each episode features two challenges, starting with the Main Challenge, which is a team exercise designed to test their leadership skills. José and Martha will select the winning team and one chef from either team will be crowned that episode’s Most Valuable Chef. The MVC will then compete in the cook-off and will be given an important decision to make in the challenge that will have a significant impact on who will be eliminated from the competition that week.
Yes, Chef! will premiere on Monday, April 28 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC following The Voice.
