YEAR: 2011
It’s hard to imagine now, but at one time. El Bulli, right outside Barcelona, Spain, was just another restaurant, and Andrés, then 21, was just another chef working for his good friend Ferran Adrià. When Adrià asked Andrés to meet him in a Barcelona restaurant one day, Andrés was surprised that the usually punctual Adrià was late—by almost half an hour. So Andrés went in search of a pay phone to call him. In the meantime, of course, Adrià showed up, and was incensed. He fired Andrés after a heated argument.
Never having thought of working anywhere else but El Bulli, Andrés found himself facing a difficult decision. Stay in his native Spain or venture to the United States, where there might be more opportunities for a chef with his skills in Spanish cuisine. Andrés chose the latter, and has never looked back. One of the first to introduce Americans to tapas, Andrés is credited with bringing traditional Spanish flavors to this country, with a string of successful restaurants including minibar by josé andrés, Jaleo and The Bazaar by José Andrés. And his relationship with Adrià? It has since been mended; the two regularly exchange recipes and emails, and often vacation together.
WORST MEAL I’VE MADE: “If I really was a great chef, my daughters would never complain about anything I cook…”