We are all so full of ourselves, aren’t we? We get up in the morning, take a fill of our favorite flavored (think about that!) coffee, harness our shiny smartphone, pack our right-on-brand portable computer, and we are ‘on’: doing our business. We look in the mirror, we look left and right: we fit right in. And we love change, we love these things about “tomorrow”, and “better”, and “no more normal”. But we could not detect real change if it bit us in the left ass-cheek. How do you bring change? Real change? Teeth rattling groundbreaking change? Rethink what can be done? Plot what you should do? Gather together an army that will not rest until the roller-coaster of change has the right momentum?
Story-telling
Here at SXSW, the answer can be found in countless corners. True change starts with an idea, a conviction. The rest is made (or broken) through the quality of the story telling. You can have your app, you can code the shiniest platform, you can build a pink nuclear fusion reactor that emits ham-and-cheese macaroni as the only rest-product… none of it will matter if the story is not right. No story, no mental connection, no empathic connection, no sense of urgency, no adhesion, no traction. Sad REX conclusion a year later: the needle did not move, nothing happened. Money was wasted, illusions scattered, frustration skyrocketing.
Quick responsive team versus… a Cook!
The Belgian Federal Government set up a permanent structure B-FAST for assistance and relief operations in disaster zones that can be mobilized at any time. Its objective is to give a quicker and more efficient response to emergency situations.
As families were still soundly asleep in earliest hours of February 6, a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Türkiye and Syria with Thor’s hammer. Six hours later, a second quake rocked the same region. More than 40,000 people were killed, tens of thousands more left injured, at least one million people evacuated.
The B-Fast team was able to set up camp… 9 days after the earth moved. Two Michelin Star chef José Andrés and his World Central Kitchen were on the ground within 36 hours after the earthquakes. They quickly identified restaurant partners and started cooking immediately. They were providing 200,000 meals… a day within 2 days of their arrival.
Andrés and his teams have fed over 250 million people in the last years, in disaster- and war zones, including Iraq, Ukraine, Haiti, Chili. He and his team showed up in the aftermath of earthquakes, wars, fires, flooding. How does a middle-aged cook beat some of the world’s best disaster relief teams?
I am not here to Cook
As soon as Andrés enters the SXSW stage, 4500 people are on their feet, scanting his name. “Sit down; I am not cooking, I am not here to cook”. Modesty from a chef who has gone beyond the status of a “Chef” to a global humanitarian hero. Moderator Michele Norris of the Washington Post called him even: a saint. José Andrés would have none of that: “My wife is in the audience, rolling her eyes.”
Tell a story, be the story, drive the story
When I asked José Andrés in the pressroom how he was able to do his magic, Andrés was very clear and very humble: “When people face unthinkable tragedy, they need stories that show the best of humanity. They need to hear the story, become part of the story. The moment they are the story, things start really moving. If you have the privilege of power, you need the magic of storytelling to move people to survive, to change, to act. No matter the platform, leaders have the power and the duty to uplift voices to help build shared understanding—something so desperately needed in our world and organizations today. We have the power of duty, the power of service, the power of example, the power of story. Make the story live, make the story life.
That is my secret. In my head, I cook. The recipe is the story. Everyone around me is a key ingredient to my recipe. Everyone around me, without knowing, is part of my story. In an organization, in a kitchen, in a war zone: if you want change, build a story. Tell the story. Do not complain, do not nag: preach! A plate of food is more than a meal—it’s hope and comfort, it’s ‘home’ in times of crisis.”
Mom’s Croquetas
Andrés told us that he got his drive from his mom, who was able to share her love , her passion for survival and care through her croquetas: “Out of an empty fridge, she could make a croquette that told me all would be good,” he said: “and there was the power of the stories in the books: John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath”: ‘Wherever there’s a fight, so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there,’ was the inspiration for me to start the World Central Kitchen.”
Talking and listening to José Andrés makes you understand, this is no ordinary man: Chef of the year, one of the 100 most influential people on the planet. President Barack Obama appointed him as ambassador for citizenship and naturalization, he was named a Nobel Peace Prize nominee for his humanitarian work.
Passion drives the world
He is intense, polite, sharp, quick. In 2022, Andrés and his team arrived at the Poland-Ukraine border within 24 hours of the Russian invasion, and started feeding Ukrainians across eight countries, including 1100 cities and towns in Ukraine alone.
In his eyes, you see passion glowing: “If you are not passionate about the change you came to bring, how will you bring it? If you do not burn from desire to bring it to a good end, how will you have other people join you? Join them, become a crucial part of their life, their story, and they will join yours. Your life, and your story: they will join it. Because they will believe you. Passion drives my kitchen, passion drives the world.
In the most stressful, the hardest of moments, the most difficult of change, your best people will join your passion: They. Will. Show. Up. Because they will believe your story. ”
Listen. Listen First
“You know: as a bringer of food, of life, of change, of help, you are there for them. If you want change, bring, be the solution. You cannot bring change, you cannot bring a solution, if you do not know what the problem is. Get out of your suit, get out of your dogmas. Listen. Listen to the people who are suffering from problems, before bringing change. Do not simply impose solutions from the outside without listening, without consulting, without building a story together. It will not work. It never does. People want respect. Learn to Listen. ”.
Take risks, change the recipe
He emphasizes that real change requires taking risks. “We are never going to be really changing the world if we don’t take risks. Change the status quo, change the recipe. I am a cook. I see what is brewing in the world. Trust me, we’re not going to change the world’s problems with yesterday’s cooking. New ingredients, new recipes. Change. In my kitchen, your company, the world. Does not matter. Bring your change, create your story, serve it: one meal at a time. Stop wasting money, energy and time in solving problems. Start investing, start building the story of finding solutions. That is not the same thing!”
Chef Andrés’ message is one of hope and empowerment, of passion and change, encouraging individuals to make a difference in their own way, one meal, one recipe, one passionate story at a time.
Give him the keys
His passion touched me to the core. An hour ago, talking to the audience, he left no soul untouched, no eye dry. This couple of minutes with him together in the pressroom changed me. This man moves mountains.
As I write this, in the dark of the night on my balcony overlooking Lake Travis, I cannot help but to wonder: why do we not give our politicians a break, why do we not send them home for a bit? Why do we not let Chef José Andrés take care of global politics for a while. Give him the keys to the kingdom, the world might be a better place.
