By: ERIN MICHELLE NEWBERG
Most recently nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his global work with World Central Kitchen, José Andrés is a man who wears many hats – starting with his Toque Blanche. From his cooking skills that led to the opening of 40 of the most notable restaurants in America, including his most recent Zaytinya South Beach at The Ritz-Carlton, to his passionate engagement with social issues that span the globe, Chef Andrés’ time has never been more valuable.
8 AM I wake up and open my Whatsapp to catch up on what my team at World Central Kitchen is up to. We are always deployed around the world in all time zones. So, there’s usually something interesting and unexpected. I’ll also check what I missed on Twitter and in the news – which I find myself circling back to all day long!
8:30 AM I do cardio and get on the treadmill for 30 minutes. I am the co-chair of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, so I need to make sure to stay fit myself!
9:15 AM I go downstairs for breakfast and will enjoy fresh-pressed orange juice (or, if it’s clementine season, clementine juice), a café con leche, and Spanish-style fried eggs cooked in plenty of good olive oil. Usually, my wife is up way before me, so she’s already eaten, but if she or one of my daughters is around, we’ll sit down together before the day begins.
10 AM I head downtown to the José Andrés Group headquarters in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington D.C., where I have seven restaurants. I’ll try to stop by most of them to check on how things are going, chat with the chefs, and taste any specials we have. I have found that these days, I am spending more time at Zaytinya now because we just launched the Zaytinya cookbook, so there’s a lot to work on.
12 PM I jump on a video call with my chefs at Zaytinya Miami Beach. We opened this past year, and as I am very hands-on with all my restaurants and Miami is very dear to me, I always make extra time for this call!
2 PM I check in with my WCK team to get updates on the day’s progress.
3 PM In the afternoons, I often lose track of time going through things in my office, which is comparable to the inside of my brain. I have endless objects that represent favorite memories or ideas for a dish or projects I’ve wanted to work on but have yet to find the time. I also own a collection of historic cookbooks, many of them hundreds of years old, so I’ll open one up and immerse myself
5:30 PM I love to have a glass of wine and watch the sunset. And that goes for wherever I am. I especially enjoy visiting Zaytinya, at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach, looking across the beautiful pool deck towards the beach, and sharing this moment with friends.
7 PM When I have the privilege of being back home, I enjoy dinner with my wife Tichi. And often, some friends are involved. I didn’t tell you earlier, but I already had some chickpeas soaking in the morning while making breakfast, so making a quick stew with fresh spinach is easy. And I also made a pitcher of gazpacho, which has been chilling in the fridge. I take out the gazpacho, some cheese, a loaf of bread I got at the farmers’ market, and some oysters I had in the fridge, and it’s dinnertime.
10 PM I’ll finish the night with a cigar with a gin-tonic, talking to friends. If you can, become friends with musicians, especially if they can bring their instruments. It tends to make the night’s end a little livelier!