Ropa vieja and Canarian rancho made in José Andrés. The Asturian chef landed last Tuesday in La Palma to offer "hot food" to those evicted by the eruption of the volcano in the Cabeza de Vaca area, in Cumbre Vieja. The intention of the internationally renowned chef is to be inspired by local cuisine so that those affected feel as sheltered as possible after their lives were broken by the passage of lava.
José Andrés, Princess of Asturias Award for Concord, has the support in La Palma of the head of fresh products of the Spar supermarket chain, Serafín Romero, who has put his entire team and facilities at the service of the solidarity chef, the engine of the NGO World Central Kitchen.
The chef put on his apron and, between dish and dish, assured that he is learning "from the difficult situations that many people are experiencing", highlights the also American -in 2013 he was granted nationality, after working for 23 years in the USA-, who emphasizes that "when the cameras go off", they will continue cooking for "those who have lost everything". The chef also praises the "very well organized" response that the Island has given to this emergency, stressing that in events of this type it is important that work flows smoothly in the first days.
His NGO has worked during this month in Haiti and New Orleans, where it draws on the products and recipes of its local cuisine, something that could not be different in La Palma. Thus, the more than 700 menus, in three meals a day, have present the values of Palmesian gastronomy and the fruits of its land. And it is that "when you have local cooks and you are on an agricultural island like this, the best thing you can do is bring people the food they understand and appreciate," he says.
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