How did a Spanish chef gain a hotline to the White House?

José Andrés is perhaps the most influential Spaniard in the world right now. After the Israeli drone strike that killed seven people who worked for his non-profit World Central Kitchen (WCK) in Gaza earlier this month, Andrés’s criticism of Israel has carried more weight and garnered more attention than any statement from a Spanish or other European political figure could.

Andrés is also skilled networker. Over the decades he has lived in the US (he became a US citizen in 2013), he has become a friend to the rich and powerful. He owns several award-winning restaurants serving Spanish, Mexican and Chinese cuisine in Washington DC, where Barack Obama would take his wife Michelle for a date, and a food market in New York called Little Spain.

He often cooks with The Late Show’s Stephen Colbert, and has produced several television shows. His portrait hangs at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington. In 2019, he was nominated for the Nobel peace prize and has twice appeared in Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Politico journalist Michael Schaffer recently called Andrés “a thought leader, humanitarian icon, and secular saint for the nation’s capital”.

Andrés was outspoken in supporting Israel’s right to self-defence soon after the 7 October attack and before the start of the Gaza invasion. Six months later, his tone has changed. After the lethal Israeli attack on his staff, he angrily accused Benjamin Netanyahu of targeting humanitarian workers and civilians and waging a “war against humanity itself”.

His reaction in interviews and a New York Times opinion piece, prompted a speedier and more tangible reaction than months of street protests throughout the world or any of the UN resolutions so far have managed.

To suggest that a Spanish chef could change the course of history may sound implausible. But whatever you think of Andrés, he has managed to move the dial with the White House where diplomacy seems to have failed. In ways we rarely see, he has shown the reach of soft power.