Literary | Talks
José Andrés
- 7:30PM
Single Tickets
In conversation with Soledad O’Brien
Introduction by Noel Quiñones
Launch of We Fed An Island
Co-presented by BAM and Greenlight Bookstore
James Beard Award-winning chef José Andrés participates in an evening of discussion to celebrate the launch of We Fed An Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time. In his new book, Andrés presents his insider account of how a group of chefs served millions of meals to the people of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria and touched the hearts of many more.
Andrés—who is the chef/owner of ThinkFoodGroup, the founder/chairman of World Central Kitchen, and the NGO behind #ChefsForPuertoRico—arrived in Puerto Rico four days after Hurricane Maria ripped through the island. With no clean water, no food, no power, and no gas for most people, and no way to communicate with the outside world, Andrés addressed the humanitarian crisis the only way he knew how: by feeding people, one hot meal at a time. We Fed an Island movingly describes how a network of chefs, volunteers, and community kitchens activated real change and tells an extraordinary story of hope in the face of disasters both natural and man-made, offering suggestions for how to address a crisis like this in the future.
A portion of proceeds from the event ticket will be donated to the Chef Relief Network of World Central Kitchen for efforts in Puerto Rico and beyond.
Soledad O’Brien is an award-winning journalist and the anchor and producer of Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien. She is the founder and CEO of Starfish Media Group and reports for HBO Real Sports, PBS NewsHour, and WebMD. O’Brien has authored two books and has won numerous awards, including three Emmys, a George Peabody Award, and an Alfred I. duPont Award, and Newsweek named her one of the “15 People Who Make America Great.” With her husband, she is founder of the PowHERful Foundation, which sends young women to college.
Noel Quiñones is an AfroBoricua poet, actor, community organizer, and performance artist born and raised in the Bronx. He has received fellowships from CantoMundo, Candor Arts, SAFTA, and Poets House. His work has been published in the Latin American Review, Rattle, TIDAL, and elsewhere. He is one of New York’s 40 Under 40 Rising Latino Stars and was recently named an Intercultural Leadership Institute Fellow and Poetry Foundation Incubator Fellow. Visit him at noelpquinones.com.