THE AMAZING CHEF

Photo credit: Screen shot Washington Examiner

THE AMAZING CHEF

He’s saving lives while fighting the hunger fight in Puerto Rico.

As has been well-documented recently, we are surrounded by bad men. Starting with global political leaders like Donald Trump, Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin, along with Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and various African nation despots. These are just some of the political bad actors on the world’s stage.

Then run down the head-spinning and growing list of men who have committed sexual harassment and sexual assault. Most recently Russell Simmons, Rep. John Conyers, Matt Lauer, and Garrison Keillor have been outed and forced to resign or have been fired. (Sorry guys, the word “alleged” no longer applies. You know you did it. Your accuser[s] know you did it. And now we all know you did it.)

With the backdrop of evil men hogging the spotlight every day, we desperately need to hear about some of the good guys.

And last Sunday, 60 Minutes obliged by profiling a man who should hands down be Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. Or at least co-person of the year with the remarkably brave women who said enough is enough, hell no, this sexual misconduct cannot and will not continue.

In the middle of the tawdry chaos and despair, that nowadays passes for normalcy, 60 Minutes shone a light on a man so full of goodness that it gives hope for those who are overwhelmed by the incessant negative news cycle.

Could it be that, as we spiral into the abyss of men misbehaving (sexually and politically), women and good men can put us back on course? As we enter the season of giving, it is a welcome respite to be reminded some people, even some men, have the capacity to do good.

Chef Jose Andres is as inspirational a man as you will ever see. His aura is positivity, can do, get it done, action-oriented, bureaucracy be damned. He is a great man. He is a hero.

I would, if I had the power to do so, turn over the United States government to Chef Jose. He would accomplish more in one week than the Trump administration has in 10 months.

Chef Jose’s power of persuasion, sheer force of will, and determination are awe inspiring. He is a beacon of hope in a world that’s gone mad.

Many of us know people we consider angels on Earth. Or we’ve seen someone in the public domain who, while we don’t personally know them, appears to be filled with an uncommon level of goodness and compassion. We admire them and hope they aren’t hiding secrets like what we’ve seen so much of in recent weeks.

Against the great odds of a devastating earthquake in Haiti and a hurricane in Puerto Rico, Chef Jose has mobilized a group of chefs and local volunteers to feed people who’ve been forgotten, left behind in the trenches.

Before he became an angel on earth and savior for the people of Haiti and Puerto Rico, Chef Jose Andres, a Spanish-American originally from Spain, was at the forefront of bringing the small plates concept to fine dining. A food scientist, he has restaurants in Washington D.C., Miami, Las Vegas and L.A.

But when the catastrophic earthquake struck Haiti in 2010 Chef Jose sprang into action, founding the World Central Kitchen focused on improving health, education and employment while helping feed people who had little food and little hope. When devastating Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico this fall he did the same thing – fed helpless masses while Trump and FEMA comparatively did little to nothing.

As the 60 Minutes profile showed, Chef Jose has zero tolerance for red tape and bureaucracy. He is a man of action. Formulate a plan and get going. As much as any athlete ever has, Chef Jose exemplifies the Nike slogan “Just do it!”

While the highlight of our do-nothing president’s day is tweeting, for example, insults at Gold Star families, Chef Jose, a principled man of integrity, is getting the job done by leading his volunteers on their mission of delivering food to those who are in dire need.

Chef Jose has been so successful that FEMA, whom he believes is well-intended but nonetheless inept because of red tape and inaction, now supports him. The beleaguered agency follows his lead and the U.S. government has provided Chef Jose some financial support. However, they won’t commit to a long-term contract because the bid process (red tape) requires at least three firms be included.

Meanwhile, Chef Jose has served more than 3 million meals in Puerto Rico. For many, still without water and electricity, the only hot meal they’ve had in the eight weeks since the hurricane is the result of Chef Jose and his team.

As Chef Jose told 60 Minutes, after Maria people asked who’s in charge of feeding the people. The response was everyone is in charge, and then nothing got done.

Chef Jose said his belief is the combination of emergency and hunger means feeding people cannot wait. It must happen right now. He then took charge as the leader of the monumental task of feeding people.

As we saw in the 60 Minutes story, Chef Jose believes you must have an identifiable leader to mobilize, put an action plan together, and get moving. He is so persuasive and his commitment so contagious that in Haiti and Puerto Rico, people who lost everything have become volunteers, learning to prepare food for distribution.

Hopefully, the Nobel Peace Prize committee knows about Chef Jose.

In sports they say so-and-so is an impact player. Right now, we need more impact players in everyday life. Chef Jose Andres is an impact player.

Thanks to 60 Minutes and Chef Jose Andres for a story that gives some relief from the bad guys.

Douglas FreelandNovember 30, 2017