Published June 4, 2026 03:30PM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
James Beard-Award winning chef, New York Times<\/i>-bestselling cookbook author, Nobel Peace Prize nominee: Jos\u00e9 Andr\u00e9s has earned many titles over the years. Speaking to a packed crowd at Outside Days on Saturday, May 30, it became clear \u201ctraveler\u201d is the one that has inspired all the other titles in his life. His adventures around the world have not only shaped his culinary identity, but the celebrated chef\u2019s humanitarian mission of feeding millions in the wake of disaster around the world via his nonprofit World Central Kitchen.<\/p>\n
Featured on Outside<\/i>\u2019s Summer issue cover, Andr\u00e9s walked the Camino de Santiago, the ancient pilgrimage route in his home country of Spain, to celebrate his 30th wedding anniversary with his wife Patricia. Our editorial director Kevin Sintumuang joined him for the journey, as Andr\u00e9s slowed down on the sacred path, while still taking calls from his team on the front lines of disaster relief in Gaza. Andr\u00e9s cooked an impromptu 20-minute, three-course meal on the trail to surprised pilgrims, and told Sintumuang that he walks the Camino every year not to escape the world, but to process it all.<\/p>\n
On the second day of Outside Days, sitting down with Outside<\/em>\u2019s VP of Media, Mary-Frances Heck, Andr\u00e9s shared the pivotal moments traveling around the globe that have inspired his life\u2019s work. As a James Beard Award winner and cookbook author herself, Heck talked with Andr\u00e9s on stage about his new cookbook Spain: My Way <\/i>and the connection between cooking and the outdoors, drawing on the universal elements of \u201cair, water, fire, and, of course, jamon.\u201d\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n Animated and unable to sit still, Andr\u00e9s captivated the crowd with his tales from his early days cooking on a Spanish tall ship to his lifelong fascination with the night sky to scuba diving all over the world. In between downing and passing the porr\u00f3n<\/i>\u2013 a traditional Spanish wine vessel\u2014and throwing Iberian ham-stuffed frisbees to the audience, the humanitarian imparted some poignant life lessons.<\/p>\n Andr\u00e9s shared that his travels are what shaped his life\u2019s work, starting at 18 years old on the Juan Sebasti\u00e1n Elcano<\/em>, a four-masted Spanish Navy tall ship. During his military service in the Spanish Navy, his culinary skills caught the attention of high-ranking officials, leading to a dream assignment: cooking meals onshore for a Navy admiral. Instead of accepting the cushy assignment, Andr\u00e9s chose to pursue his childhood dream. He convinced the admiral to send him to sea on the legendary four-masted training ship and the third-largest tall ship in the world.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you want something, knock on the door. If the door isn\u2019t open, jump through the window. And be creative about it, because the destiny of your life is not in the hands of others,\u201d he told the audience. \u201cI am so happy I risked it to get in trouble, only to do something that was my destiny.\u201d<\/p>\n These formative years cooking on a Spanish Navy tall ship first brought him to the Americas. And at the time the ship docked in New York City, he recalled, only blocks from where his future Mercado Little Spain<\/a>, a 35,000-square-foot Spanish food hall and market, stands today.<\/p>\n Andr\u00e9s\u2019 adventures navigating intense storms, including hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and the incredible views from high above the deck, instilled in him his lifelong sense of wonder.\u00a0 Sailing through unpredictable weather taught him a profound lesson about moving forward through adversity, too. His days cooking on a Spanish Navy tall ship also taught him the power of a team working toward a shared direction.<\/p>\n \u201cThose six months [were] probably one of the most important six months of my life,\u201d he said. \u201cIt showed me the power of 300 people working together, even when the winds, the oceans, and the currents were taking us in another direction. Together, we could always take the boat in the direction we wanted.\u201d This camaraderie he felt with his shipmates and later his kitchen staff fueled his humanitarian work.<\/p>\n Andr\u00e9s emphasized that time is the most essential component in cooking, particularly when discussing traditional Spanish foods. The chef detailed the creation of Iberian ham, the prized Spanish cured ham from the black Iberian pig (and in Jos\u00e9 Andr\u00e9s fashion, he shared his country\u2019s delicacy with the audience via a rather inventive distribution method\u2014stuffed in frisbees and tossed from the stage).<\/p>\n He described to Heck the essential natural elements needed: from the pigs fattening on acorns to the mountain winds\u2014both the cold northern winter winds and the hot southern summer winds\u2014that are naturally harnessed to cure the meat.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most precious gift and ingredient is time,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause when we waste it, it is precious. And when we [don\u2019t], it\u2019s precious because we are enjoying every second.\u201d<\/p>\n Where will the astro-loving chef be for this year\u2019s total solar eclipse? Spain, of course. Andr\u00e9s shared that he has already meticulously planned for the total solar eclipse happening on August 12, 2026. He\u2019s rented out a ten-room hotel situated in the path of totality in an undisclosed location in Spain. The spot was specifically chosen for its high probability of clear skies, but no surprise, also for its close proximity to the region\u2019s best restaurant.<\/p>\nIf the Door Doesn\u2019t Open, Jump Through the Window<\/h2>\n
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The Most Important Ingredient Is Time<\/h2>\n
Spain Is the Best Bet for Total Solar Eclipse\u2026and Well, Food<\/h2>\n
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Paella Is Best Served on Earth, Not in Space<\/h2>\n