José Andrés: Conquistador of World Cuisine

“I always say that I don’t just open restaurants; really I tell stories,” says award-winning chef José Andrés. Andrés’ “storytelling” includes the tales of his homeland, Spain, at his Washington, DC restaurants such as minibar and Jaleo; modernist cuisine at his Bazaar restaurants in Los Angeles and Miami; Chinese and Mexican cuisine at China Poblano in Las Vegas; the Mediterranean at Zaytina in Washington; American food at America Eats Tavern in Tysons Corner, VA; and most recently Puerto Rican cuisine at Mi Casa in Dorado Beach, Puerto Rico.

Born in the northern reaches of Asturias, Spain, Andrés studied cooking in Barcelona before landing a place in Ferran Adria’s kitchen at the world-famous El Bulli restaurant. A recent recipient of a Hispanic Heritage Award, Andrés has been named Best Chef Mid-Atlantic and Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation; Man of the Year by GQ magazine; a Time 100 Most Influential Person of the Year; and Chef of the Year by Bon Appetit magazine. He is also a cookbook author, television personality, educator, and philanthropist.

Cities around the U.S. are clamoring for a taste of the chef’s innovative cooking, and while food lovers in culinary capitals across the country have been clamoring for his playful takes on various cuisines, it was surprising to some that he slipped into Dorado Beach, about 20 miles west of San Juan in Puerto Rico, in partnership with the Ritz-Carlton Reserve, before even opening a restaurant in New York City.

“Puerto Rico is the perfect meeting point between the country I come from, Spain, and the country that adopted me, the US,” he told us. “So when the opportunity came to open in Puerto Rico with the Ritz-Carlton, I didn’t hesitate for a second because I knew we could do something amazing.”

Andrés first visited Puerto Rico in 1991. “Before leaving I promised myself that I’d be back,” he says, and he did return several times to vacation before he embarked on the Mi Casa project. “The first time I scuba dived I was in Puerto Rico. I was 100 feet underwater when I saw my first turtle under the sea in a beautiful reef called The Wall. It quite frankly changed my life. It’s very astonishing to see how much life is underwater.”

To prime his palate for Puerto Rico, Andrés traveled throughout the island to immerse himself in the local gastronomy. “My team and I also did a lot of research on Puerto Rico’s cuisine, from learning about the indigenous ingredients to studying the authentic cocina criolla,” Andrés says. “We referenced Puerto Rico’s first cookbook, El Cocinero Puertorriqueño from 1849, celebrating shellfish caught in nearby waters and many other exceptional dishes.”

Andrés explains, “It was natural to incorporate the local tropical flavors with dishes like the churros de yucca, coquitos of spherified coconut water and rum, and the signature lechón de guavate sandwich, which pays homage to the exquisite roasted pork historically served in the lechoneras (cafeterias) of Guavate. You will see the amazing flavors of the island and the Caribbean all over the menu. And probably one of my favorite dishes is the asopao de langosta. As a Spaniard, I will tell you that it is the legacy of the Spanish paella, but at the same time you can [see] that asopao is paella finding a new home right in Puerto Rico. To make this beautiful dish, we catch lobsters right off the beaches of Dorado, which we incorporate with ingredients that we find here on this island.”

Next, the chef talks about what’s next for him and Spanish cuisine…

Still, while basking in the sunny glow of the Caribbean, Andrés continues to be hands-on with his other restaurants, continually reinventing his anchor spaces, such as Minibar in Washington D.C.. Recently, Andrés added Jose’s Table, a luxe private dining option to the small restaurant. Explaining the concept, Andrés says, “Minibar has always been my gem and the heart that keeps us moving. For me and my team, this is where everything begins and a place to be inspired to create and innovate for future projects in our other concepts. Opening minibar in its own space was a long-time dream and as part of that I wanted to create a small private space inside the restaurant. The experience we offer there is quite different from that of minibar as guests can have an unprecedented access to some of the most visionary creations we are making.” 

He is also re-launching America Eats Tavern in Tysons Corner, Virginia this fall. “This new generation of America Eats Tavern will be slightly different than the original version in the sense that it will be less academic. The menu back in 2011 was more of a culinary museum, where this menu will rely more on local products such as blue crabs, oysters, cheeses, lamb, chicken…we will be portraying this in a very fun way,” he shares. “This will be a restaurant for and about Virginia. I am fascinated with American cooking and I believe this is an amazing opportunity to continue doing great American dishes; revive the forgotten ones; and celebrate the amazing culinary heritage of the country.”

Andrés also just launched a line of Spanish foods, José Andrés Foods, an idea he has been toying with since he first arrived in the US 20 years ago. “I’ve been able to work with some of my favorite producers–artisans committed to their craft–and select my favorite ingredients, the best items to bring to the US. Each partner in my collection has an amazing story and tradition. I hand-selected each product and partner because I believe in them and because these are products that I have come to know very well.”

The food line demonstrates his firm belief in the power of Spanish cooking, essential in this age of experimentation, and despite some backlash, such as this recent comment from James Beard Award-winning food writer Fuscia Dunlop:

“I’ve heard from friends in Barcelona that El Bulli has had a catastrophic effect on the younger generation of chefs. Everyone, they say, wants to be a gastro-magician, a celebrity, a superstar. They want to invent and play– but they no longer want to learn the basic skills of Catalan cuisine.”

A statement Andrés could not disagree with more passionately. “Ferran Adrià and El Bulli…the philosophy, the open sharing of ideas—they changed the way many people thought about food and that really got people excited, because we started to see that the possibilities are endless,” Andrés responds. “The way I see the legacy of el Bulli is that it helped start a conversation around food and making us ask questions about ‘why?’ So, NO! I don’t think it has had a catastrophic effect. In Spain, there had already been great men like Josep Mercader who had begun to transform Spanish cuisine, then the great chefs in the Basque region, like Juan Mari Arzak. As a young boy starting my career in the 1980’s, I knew something big was happening and that influence has only expanded to the world. This modern way of cooking is about learning to think beyond the ingredients in front of you. Why do we only have to be feeding our stomach, and our brain, within the parameters we know? Why can’t eating also be feeding our brain, our senses, beyond what we feel comfortable with. These are the questions that we should be asking ourselves and I think El Bulli helped us start that conversation.”

With the continued growth of his American empire, savvy Spanish shepherds like Andrés are certainly keeping this dialogue going.