Does the humanitarian sector have something to learn from this celebrity’s approach to relief work? 

Chef José Andrés took his cooking skills to disaster zones and began distributing hot meals to people in need, via the NGO he founded: World Central Kitchen. 

Their model is simple: Respond quickly after a disaster by tapping into resources already available in affected communities – local chefs – and without all the bureaucracy of a big aid organisation. 

In this episode of Rethinking Humanitarianism, we explore the pros and cons of taking a different approach to humanitarianism: José Andrés says he treats his beneficiaries like “guests” at a restaurant. He speaks of the need for smaller, more specialised, more agile organisations that don’t try to be everything to everyone and pursue endless growth. And he advocates for an approach where people feel they are not working for an organisation, but for their own communities. Humanitarianism, he says, can’t remain about throwing crumbs to the poor.   

Guest: José Andrés, chef and founder of World Central Kitchen