Jose Andres writing Hurricane Maria relief work book, named James Beard honoree

NEW YORK — Award-winning chef Jose Andres is working on a book about his efforts to help Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.

Ecco told The Associated Press on Wednesday that it has acquired “We Fed An Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time.” The book is scheduled for Sept. 11 and is co-written by Richard Wolffe. A portion of proceeds will be given to the Chef Relief Network of Andres’ nonprofit World Central Kitchen. Also on Wednesday, the James Beard Foundation cited his efforts in feeding millions of Puerto Ricans after the storm in naming him “Humanitarian of the Year.” The foundation called him a “committed advocate of food and hunger issues.” Andres will receive the Beard Award at the foundation’s annual awards gala in Chicago on May 7.

“We Fed an Island” will be released through Anthony Bourdain’s imprint at Ecco. In the book, Andres says he wanted to provide the “inside story” of the relief work by himself and World Central Kitchen last fall.

“We want to tell the inside story of what we saw on the ground,” he writes, “the good and the bad— of the crisis, the response, and how a plate of food does more than just fill you up. It fills you with hope.”

Associated Press