José Andrés: How a team of chefs fed Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria
José Andrés: Cómo un grupo de chefs alimentó a Puerto Rico después del Huracán María.
José Andrés is a committed advocate of food and hunger issues and is known for championing the role of chefs in the national debate on food policy. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
for the worst TED Talk ever.
charla TED de la historia.
I love to be here with you all,
estar aquí con Uds.,
not to tell my story
para contar mi historia,
of the amazing people of Puerto Rico
de la gente increíble de Puerto Rico
to feed the people of Puerto Rico.
a la gente de Puerto Rico.
and you know I love to feed the few,
que adoro alimentar a unos pocos,
after an earthquake in Haiti
después del terremoto en Haití,
that want to join you
que se unen a nosotros
that only help me to be better.
que me ayudan a ser mejor persona.
and this is what we found.
one more hurricane,
en la televisión? Otro huracán.
in the island was gone.
estaba sin electricidad.
se habían desplomado.
you moved away from San Juan.
si nos alejábamos de San Juan.
para usar los teléfonos celulares.
trying to use our cell phones.
was that the island was hungry,
una isla hambrienta,
because ATMs were not working,
los cajeros automáticos no funcionaban
for food stamps,
que son electrónicas,
in their supermarkets,
los supermercados,
or clean water to cook.
ni agua limpia para cocinar.
urgente en ese instante,
to get into a meeting at FEMA,
Federal para el Manejo de Emergencias,
NGO partners were having a conversation
más importantes discutían
in the weeks to come,
isla en las próximas semanas,
in this minute, in this second,
este minuto, este segundo,
that needed to be fed.
a la espera de ser alimentadas.
lo que se nos da mejor hacer.
industry actually was ready
estaba lista, preparada y pujante,
even to be aware of that.
capaces de reconocerlo.
men in the whole world,
calling all the chefs of Puerto Rico,
a llamar a todos los chefs de Puerto Rico,
"Let's not plan, let's not meet,
dejémonos de reuniones, ...
puertorriqueños un lunes.
of Puerto Rico, on a Monday.
sancocho, an amazing stew
con maíz, yuca y cerdo.
didn't only use the restaurant,
ocupábamos el restaurante,
right across.
el estacionamiento de enfrente.
operation, and refrigerators,
de arroz con pollo, y refrigeradores,
to find a place to help,
desea encontrar un lugar donde ayudar,
su granito de arena.
nuestro primer reparto de alimentos.
the nurses and the doctors,
a las enfermeras y a los médicos,
con nuestro primer objetivo:
hospital was calling us.
empezaron a llamarnos.
our 24/7 employees
toda la semana para los trabajadores
and the elderly and the people in need."
los mayores y la gente necesitada".
We were receiving orders.
demasiado pequeño para tantos pedidos.
un invitado, un cliente,
that we were able to be stabilizing
we kept serving them food, day after day,
les seguíamos sirviendo comida a diario
y nos trasladamos al estadio Coliseo.
se convirtieron en 50 000,
the biggest restaurant in the world.
más grande del mundo.
by the hundreds.
more than 7,000 volunteers
más de 7000 voluntarios
or more with us,
como mínimo una hora o más,
more than 700 people at once.
más de 700 personas trabajando a la vez.
everybody could rally behind:
todo el mundo podía unirse:
that people could recognize,
que la gente pudiera reconocer,
que viene de lugares remotos,
and you cannot even smell.
las abres ni siquiera puedes oler.
that people feel home.
la gente se sintiera como en casa.
this urgency of feeling they are alive,
tenían la necesidad de sentirse vivas,
used to bring calories to their bodies,
aportar calorías al cuerpo,
that you and you and you and you,
that we are with you.
estamos tratando de arreglar esto".
we began joining the communities.
cada vez que llegábamos a un sitio.
municipalities all across the island.
a los 78 municipios de la isla.
was not going to feed the island.
cocina no alimentaría a una isla.
with eight armored guards and AK-47s.
armados con fusiles me echaron.
around the island."
repartidas por toda la isla".
we reached our 18th kitchen
abrimos la 18ª cocina
to deliver the food, people would tell me.
un sistema de reparto de alimentos.
was the perfect delivery system.
era el sistema de reparto perfecto.
was for us the way to be bringing hope
de un lado a otro, era señal de esperanza
con comida para alguien.
to do these food trucks,
para usar camiones de comida;
the place that needed the food,
donde la gente necesitaba comida,
that was surrounded by water.
atrapado por el agua".
will never, ever again feel alone
jamás se volviera a sentir sola
en las áreas más profundas,
the bridges were broken,
los puentes se habían caído.
to stay in San Juan.
quedarse en San Juan.
that actually, they really needed us.
que realmente nos necesitaban.
and people kept waiting for us,
porque sabía que apareceríamos,
that we will always show up,
se convirtieron en nuestros salvadores,
two islands far away from the island --
dos islas lejos de Puerto Rico,
a hotel kitchen operation in Vieques
una cocina en un hotel de Vieques
water purification system
sistema de purificación de agua
one gallon per minute.
3,7 litros de agua por minuto.
become very simple,
se volvieron muy simples,
and meeting in a very big building.
ni reuniones en grandes edificios.
los pedimos y los obtuvimos.
we paid, and we got.
pagamos y los conseguimos.
that really were in need.
a las zonas realmente necesitadas.
en algo poderoso.
to the edges of the island.
hasta los extremos de la isla.
with songs, with claps, with hearts,
con canciones, con aplausos,
in so many corners.
en tantos sitios...
the National Guard began calling us
la Guardia Nacional nos llamó
humble plate of hot food.
plato de comida caliente.
de la Seguridad Nacional,
didn't happen calling the top.
por contactos en las altas esferas.
in the middle of the street,
we can even reach more people.
podíamos llegar a más gente.
is put to the service of the people.
está al servicio de la gente.
relief organizations,
humanitaria para emergencias
how to give aid a month from now.
cómo vamos a auxiliar dentro de un mes.
the private sector --
were being opened,
pequeños restaurantes.
today in Puerto Rico, was happening.
hoy en Puerto Rico, estaba volviendo.
away from the places
de los sitios que ya estaban normalizados
that really need help.
áreas que realmente lo requerían.
two million meals!
¡Dos millones de platos!
let me translate this to you.
you should be proud,
siéntanse orgullosos,
you are part of the change.
de Uds., y Uds. son parte del cambio.
if after we leave this amazing conference,
si después de abandonar la conferencia
and inspiration that we get,
y el entusiasmo que tenemos
to the service of those in need.
al servicio de aquellos que lo necesitan.
trying to feed a few people,
de comer a unas cuantas personas
of Puerto Rico saw the same problem as me,
vio el mismo problema que yo,
in a moment of disrepair,
en un momento de desolación,
and let's start feeding
would be interested to hear.
le interesará escuchar.
This is how good my talk was.
mi charla estuvo muy buena.
in the history of TED.
con aclaración de la historia.
what were some of the challenges,
fueron algunos de los retos,
they started coming to you to ask you.
a recurrir a ti, a pedirte ayuda.
from Red Cross or Salvation Army.
a la Cruz Roja o al Ejército de Salvación.
to those organizations,
a estas organizaciones en el pasado,
that we're expecting too much from them.
que esperamos demasiado de ellas.
what they were supposed to do.
lo que tenían que hacer.
is that that's what they do.
que tenemos de estas organizaciones.
a moment like this and wash your hands,
no puedes de repente lavarte las manos,
is going to be picking it up.
that had a very simple solution.
con una solución muy sencilla.
and people willing to help,
y gente dispuesta a echar una mano,
how to feed them in the short term.
servirles en el corto plazo.
about how to feed the people.
pensaba cómo alimentar a esa gente.
the biggest food organization in America,
el mayor banco de alimentos de EE. UU.,
called to Puerto Rico.
convocados a Puerto Rico.
food in America after a hurricane,
después de un huracán en EE. UU.,
Convención Bautista del Sur.
for 420 meals on a Wednesday rainy night
una noche lluviosa de miércoles
who are supposed to be helping us
que se supone que deberían ayudarnos
is when I wake up super worried
me levanto preocupadísimo
the plan to feed the island.
cómo íbamos a alimentar a la isla.
maybe you are making the problem
haciendo el problema
and hundreds and hundreds of organizations
de organizaciones
asking for a tray of food,
una bandeja de comida.
that the need was real ...
de que la pobreza era real.
in America anymore with MREs
a EE. UU. con comida preparada
a little bit of those same foods --
the chicken and rice we made,
y arroz del que hicimos,
for a day or two or five,
durante un día, dos o cinco,
20 dollars to the American taxpayer.
cuestan unos 12,14,15 o 20 dólares
for weeks and weeks and weeks,
durante semanas y semanas,
the local private business community
a una empresa local privada
creating local jobs,
mucho mejor, creando puestos de trabajo,
local a recuperarse,
that everything was going to go back
dollar we had in our credit cards.
hasta el último dólar en las tarjetas.
a discount would be appreciated.
un descuento no nos vendría mal.
some improvements in San Juan
algunas mejoras en San Juan
major challenges, and what's next?
is we slowly began going down
empezamos a reducir el servicio,
everything under control
hasta un cierto punto...
60,000 meals a day,
donde servíamos 60 000 platos,
but more strategically located,
pero mejor localizado,
20-25,000 meals a day,
entre 20 y 25 mil platos diarios.
four, five, six kitchens
cuatro, cinco, seis cocinas
in the poor areas.
en las áreas pobres.
who is using food stamps,
Asistencial de Nutrición Suplementaria,
and we know who is using them.
where nobody is using them,
donde nadie los usa,
we are going to be focusing our efforts.
enfocamos nuestros esfuerzos.
simple data can give you a clue
tener información te da pistas
de pollo de la historia.
in the history of mankind.
unos sándwiches y paré.
We were bringing sandwiches.
de la Seguridad Nacional.
these Homeland Security officers.
in this other place called San Lorenzo.
a otro lugar llamado San Lorenzo.
because the bridge was broken,
porque el puente se había caído
"It's a disaster down there."
"¡Aquello es un desastre!".
con sándwiches no alcanza".
sandwiches is not enough.
were very thankful, but they told us,
y agua limpia también.
around us that are in more need."
que lo necesitan más".
relying on fake news
podemos fiarnos de noticias falsas
that we can make smart decisions
para tomar decisiones inteligentes
and to play a small role --
y aportar un granito de arena.
you were up to about 150,000 meals
cerca de 150 000 comidas al día,
really sort of setting a model
que estableciste un modelo
hopefully, moving forward.
que nos enseña esto.
of the big learnings out of this --
You know, people can replicate this.
que se puede reproducir.
to watch TED Talks,
de venir a las charlas TED,
that anything can happen.
que cualquier cosa es posible.
to cook a thousand meals a day.
mil platos en un día,
que no les conté:
and I began calling people,
y empecé a llamar gente.
that could help us.
la experiencia para poder ayudarnos.
a company called Bon Appétit, Fedele.
llamada 'Bon Appétit, Fedele'.
de comidas muy grande.
the big catering companies.
y para los estadios, y cosas así.
called Compass.
llamado 'Compass'.
that can do volume
cocinar grandes cantidades.
en grandes cantidades".
I began getting people and chefs.
gente y chefs que me ayudaron.
that America can offer.
de los mejores chefs de EE. UU.
is an amazing heart country
are going to be playing a role
tendrán un papel importante
and maybe other parts of the world
para alimentar EE. UU. y otros países
es llevar la experiencia adecuada
where the expertise is needed.
like with FEMA,
como cuando fui a la FEMA,
in the areas that it's not even needed.
adonde ni siquiera es necesaria.
pyramidal organizational chart
organización jerárquica piramidal
out of their own weight.
para que pueda alcanzar el éxito.
people to be successful.
a flatter organizational chart
un organigrama más llano
eran dueños de la situación
to solve the problems on the spot.
solucionando los problemas de inmediato.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
José Andrés - Chef, humanitarianJosé Andrés is a committed advocate of food and hunger issues and is known for championing the role of chefs in the national debate on food policy.
Why you should listen
Named one of TIME's "100 Most Influential People," awarded "Outstanding Chef" and "Humanitarian of the Year" by the James Beard Foundation, José Andrés is an internationally-recognized culinary innovator, author, educator, television personality, humanitarian and chef/owner of ThinkFoodGroup. A pioneer of Spanish tapas in the United States, he is also known for his groundbreaking avant-garde cuisine and his award-winning group of 28 restaurants plus a food truck located throughout the country and in Mexico City. Andrés is the only chef globally that has both a two-star Michelin restaurant and four Bib Gourmands. His award-winning restaurants include two Michelin starred minibar by José Andrés, Jaleo, Zaytinya, J by José Andrés at W Mexico City, Bazaar Meat at SLS Las Vegas, the Bazaar by José Andrés at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills and South Beach, and Beefsteak, his vegetable-driven fast-casual concept. Andrés is a committed advocate of food and hunger issues and is known for championing the role of chefs in the national debate on food policy. In 2012, he formed World Central Kitchen, a non-profit that provides smart solutions to hunger and poverty by using the power of food to empower communities and strengthen economies. Together with World Central Kitchen and #ChefsforPuertoRico, Andrés served more than 3.3 million meals in Puerto Rico following the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017, reaching communities in need across all 78 municipalities through 23 kitchens.
Andrés's work has earned awards and distinctions including the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award from International Association of Culinary Professionals and the 2015 National Humanities Medal, one of twelve distinguished recipients of the award from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Andrés was also named EY Master Entrepreneur of the Year in Greater Washington for his leadership and impact on the global business community and was also awarded the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s Chair’s Medallion Award.
José Andrés | Speaker | TED.com