hunger relief

Chefs Are Lining Up to Help José Andrés Feed Displaced California Wildfire Victims

Sandwiches being made at L.A. Kitchen. Photo: Twitter/robert egger

Hunger-relief machine José Andrés announced yesterday that, oh by the way, he’s also now feeding people displaced by Southern California’s wildfires. In the last 48 or so hours, he’s helped assemble a team he says will serve 2,000 meals a day. The fires began this week and have spread insanely fast, forcing thousands to flee vast swaths of L.A. and Ventura County. If his live-tweeting is any indication, Andrés understands, at the very least, that the food situation could soon be serious for evacuees:

Andrés said his successful Puerto Rico aid is indebted to the island’s chefs. Perhaps it’s because Los Angeles is more accessible, but this time, big-name chefs across the U.S. are volunteering. Tom Colicchio was quick to offer up his services:

Atlanta’s fellow Top Chef judge Hugh Acheson said he could do several hundred tacos for displaced victims starting today:

Andrés is basing his operations out of L.A. Kitchen, a hunger-relief group founded by Robert Egger. Egger is the James Beard Humanitarian Award winner who, conveniently, started D.C. Central Kitchen, the famous nonprofit Andrés’s World Central Kitchen is modeled on. So there’s what you might call a “synergy”:

It’s unclear if Colicchio has been put to work, or if Acheson’s taco operation will pan out, but watching the collective scramble play out on Twitter has become a uniquely José Andrés thing. One of the most thrilling things is vicariously watching what feels like half of the technicalities get worked out via Twitter mentions:

José Andrés and Other Chefs Feed California Wildfire Victims