José Andrés: "The Restaurant Industry Doesn’t get Credit for its Effort"

José Andrés is solemn as he says, “We’re expecting too much from restaurants.”

Andrés speaks softly and seriously, pensive as he considers the difficulties the restaurant industry has faced during the pandemic, and how much the industry has given back.

“The first time I came to Chicago, it was 1992 or 1991. It was for a fundraising event, for hunger, I believe. They asked me to make huge paellas. I don’t think anybody has done research about the amount of gift certificates given and events that restaurants and chefs go to every year [and donate to]. I would say it’s even too much. I guarantee you that the restaurant industry gives out hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars, raising money for their communities. And I think this is something that should be applauded. The restaurant industry doesn’t get the credit for this effort.”

We’re sitting down at the Chicago outpost of his restaurant, Jaleo, in between James Beard Foundation Awards events, talking about the current state of the restaurant industry and the upcoming dining series he has partnered with Capital One on. Andrés clearly feels the same burdens as everyone else in the restaurant industry and conveys both empathy and sympathy.

“When a restaurant gives out a gift certificate, it is giving out money and you can argue this is PR but sometimes you give gift certificates, and nobody even finds out you gave it. When chefs go to events and give their time and donate their food, that becomes tens of thousands of dollars. To me, nobody should be bearing the brunt of having to do more. We learnt in this pandemic that keeping your restaurant running and afloat – this is a very big achievement. The rising cost of labour, the lack of labour, more demanding customers, fiercer competition – oh my god, just keeping the restaurant going, to me, is huge.”

And that’s where Andrés and Capital One (which also presents the James Beard Foundation Awards) come together to lend a hand, setting the stage for introspective but approachable dining experiences. This is another step in helping the restaurant industry recover by encouraging people to dine out. Andrés frames the dining series as a way of thanking restaurants. According to an article published by Axios two days prior to the Awards, Chicagoans are simply not eating out as much as they used to: “The event brings visitors to the city and showcases our vibrant restaurant scene. Even with fine food in focus, Chicagoans aren’t eating out as much as they were before the pandemic… Chicago’s reservation rate on OpenTable is still nearly 35% below 2019’s rate.”

“How did you select restaurants or chefs for this dining series? What was the criteria?” I ask him.

“There are so many great restaurants…very often they’re friends, we did things together such as they participated in World Central Kitchen. I looked for people who do good things beyond their restaurants, those who help their communities. It’s not so much me selecting them, but me being thankful that they want to join the program.” He describes a years-long relationship with Capital One and a program that “has to provide something else for restaurants. With Capital One’s promotion and investment – I think we’ve learnt in this pandemic that is good to have more business and they’re helping to send more business [to restaurants]. It’s a win-win for everyone.”

“Do you think this series will in any way help the industry recover?”

“Obviously, there are a lot of restaurants in Chicago, in America. We’ve seen a lot of businesses shut down, but a lot of new businesses open up. I hope this is part of what we want – going into this summer, then especially, going into winter, to have a feeling that things are going back to normal. When Capital One approached me, I thought well, everything counts – especially such a powerful bank doing their part with a program that encourages dining out and enjoying life again.”

JBF Awards weekend is traditionally a string of parties, and this year, after a long pandemic hiatus from the awards, at both official and ancillary events, everyone is desperate to revel.

Our interview ends with a party, and as the Sangria Zahara is poured and caviar ‘tacos’ encased in jamon are passed around along with his famously sublime liquid olive spheres, Andrés transforms into a raucous host, poking fun at everything including the décor of his own restaurant. He eyes up the spherical, spiky light fixtures (“The lamps look like Covid”) and considers the porró he demonstrates pouring wine with (“This is also great especially during Covid”), illustrating the safe distance one must stand away from the recipient of the stream of wine. Andrés can be admired for many things, but let’s never forget that he is an incredibly charismatic cook and host.

He holds court casually, boisterously, joking about how he gives his dinner guests tasks like peeling blueberries. “Don’t follow the recipe!” He advises everyone: “Be yourself. Especially if it is French chefs telling you what to do.” He leads a rousing cooking demonstration, talks about the process of making the spherical olives guests are joyfully slurping down, and explains away the notion of molecular cooking being unapproachable. “Beer is molecular. Wine is molecular. I am molecular. Do you like it or don’t? Do you like the olive or not? It boils down to – is it good?” Andrés’ definition of gastronomy starts with it not being intimidating.

He is working on ground level in both humanitarianism and gastronomy. He never stops working for others, and in Chicago he’s working to highlight restaurants and their communities. He puts the stamp of his personality on a dining tour for Capital One cardmembers that spans the cities of San Francisco, Boston, Venice, CA, and Washington DC and includes dinners helmed by Top Chef All-Stars, chef Karen Akunowicz of Bar Volpe, chef Evan Funke of Felix, and chef Michael Tusk of Verjus.

There’s also some significance of debuting the summer dining series at a newly socially-conscious awards. The greater backdrop of the James Beard Foundation Awards, after two years of soul-searching and auditing, is generally doing better. We’re still celebrating the usual celebrity chef suspects, but there is a heightened inclusion of others.

At different JBF awards events, I speak with three industry leaders who are involved as hosts, winners, and nominees.

Ashley Christensen, Outstanding Chef 2019 and the chef-proprietor of AC-Restaurants in Raleigh, NC, says: “My first official event of the weekend was the award sessions panel on equity, food justice and leadership, which was such an inspiring and meaningful way to enter into this weekend. There’s so much joy and hope in seeing more representation overall, from the discussions to the stage.”

Gregory Goudet, James Beard Foundation Award Winner 2022 and chef-partner of Kann (opening in Summer 2022) tells me: “I commend the Beard Foundation for standing by the values they have put in place to make the awards more just and equitable. The weekend was filed with stories of immigrants, women, black, brown and queer folks. These people are the backbone and true leaders of American culinary, from the field to the plate and the telling of their stories is long overdue.” 

Ellen Yin, founder and restaurateur of High Street Hospitality Group, who was nominated for Outstanding Restaurateur says: “The awards are particularly meaningful after everything restaurants and restaurateurs have been through.” Yin echoed Andrés’ sentiments, “Over the course of my career, restaurants have become a vital part of the economic development of neighbourhoods and cities across the country, transforming us from operators to community builders, front line responders, advocates, and visionaries — all to make our cities and towns better places to live. Knowing so many inspiring leaders in this industry are also committed to making restaurants a sustainable workplace that is more equitable, diverse, and inclusive makes me incredibly proud.”

Throughout the awards weekend, there is a resounding joy of being back. Caught up in celebration, the pandemic is largely forgotten. For a weekend, we're back from something that we have blotted from our memories. Masking is a rare occurrence. No one checks my vaccination card. To witness the presentation of awards, we pack into crowded rooms at close quarters, breathing one another’s breath. Afterwards, we return home to our restaurants, part of an industry that still needs a lot of help.

The James Beard Awards have a troubled past, but it’s looking to the future. There’s real hope that ensuing years will involve more transparency to how nominees and winners are chosen. But there needs to be more support for the industry through acknowledgement of the pandemic and its ongoing problems.

The presence of programs like this dining series is a reminder that restaurants still need help.