Chef and humanitarian José Andrés's advice: Be bold, take risks, adapt
He explains that the title of the book comes from learning early on not to 'let bad moments bring you down.' Adapt, he writes, as he has had to do often in the kitchen, when an ingredient is missing, when carelessness sends cooked food flying to the floor, when he's in a war zone and people are going hungry. 'To make a Spanish tortilla,' he writes, 'you need to break some eggs. To fix the broken parts of our world, you often need to break the rules.'
The book consists of memoir-ish essays that tell stories of Andrés's early cooking jobs, a stint in the Spanish navy that took him to America for the first time, what it was like to work at
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Andrés seems to draw on boundless energy. He joined his restaurant partner,
Book jacket for 'Change the Recipe' by José Andrés with Richard Wolffe
handout/Handout
It began in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake and right away he learned an important lesson from local women who had set up a shelter and were cooking. Andrés made a pot of black beans and rice. He and the women didn't have a common language but he saw they didn't like what he made. They showed him how it should be done. They took burlap sacks and used them to sieve the black beans into a saucy puree. 'It ended up so beautiful and rich and velvety, this perfect texture that I had never seen before from beans.'
If he was going to do this, he would have to listen to the residents where he was. 'I still have trouble listening sometimes,' he writes, 'I love thinking I'm right. I love to be the one who is telling people what to do.'
He set up shop at more natural disasters, and most recently in Ukraine, Israel, and Gaza.
Wherever he is, writes Andrés, he has 'to be ready for the loud voices that will line up against you.' He was accused of profiting from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, 'when the truth is,' he writes, 'that I don't earn a penny for my work in disasters.'
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When people in other organizations, far from the crisis, try to tell him what to do, the only expert he's interested in talking to is someone with boots on the ground. An MBA thousands of miles away, he says, doesn't have more knowledge of the situation than 'a guy with a bulldozer who is building a jetty in Gaza out of concrete rubble.'
Photo of José Andrés, chef and humanitarian
JOSH TELLES
In April 2024, seven World Central Kitchen workers in Gaza were killed by Israeli air strikes that hit their convoy. He ends the book with a tribute he gave to them at a memorial service at Washington National Cathedral.
'Change the Recipe' touches on many of the deep issues our society and what people have to contend with. You can imagine that someone like Andrés can tackle some of this.
But the book has a TED talk quality, with each chapter ending in a go-get-'em motivational summary of how to handle, overcome, rise above (fill in the blank) various situations.
In January 2024, several members of Congress
The modest author never mentions it.
Sheryl Julian can be reached at
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Boston Globe
an hour ago
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In 1978, Pat Wells cut an album that didn't make it big. In 2025, songs from it landed on Netflix.
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He found a copy at a Boston-area record shop — Advertisement And that, once again, was that, for more than a decade. About a year ago, he reconnected with Wells and told her he was sending her a check, rounding up to $100, the amount he felt he owed her. 'I'm pretty sure you could count the number of people who paid to download her record on your fingers and toes,' he said recently. Pat Wells grew up in West Newbury, the fourth of five children born to a radiologist and his stay-at-home wife. At 10 or 11, she became interested in learning to play the guitar. She'd close her bedroom door to drown out the commotion in her crowded house, and try to write songs. When she was 16, one of her older sisters encouraged her to sign up to sing at the open mic night at 'Nobody could drink at that table,' Wells recalled. There was a robust circuit of barrooms and stages across the North Shore for songwriters at the time, Wells said. At the Pat Wells plays her guitar at her home in Grantham, N.H. Jim Davis/Jim Davis for the Globe She remembers seeing Tom Rush perform in Salem and Bonnie Raitt in Ipswich, and there were lots of artists — Bill Madison, Kenny Girard, Charlie Bechler — who drew local followings. Younger than most of her peers, she felt supported by the audiences she encountered. Advertisement 'There was something about creating music, having people listen to you and enjoy what you had to say about your life, your friends, the area,' she said. When she picked up some work assisting a piano tuner, she asked to pick his brain. 'You know, I've got all these songs,' she said. 'How do people make records?' The piano tuner happened to know Josiah Spaulding Jr., the songwriter who would later become Spaulding helped organize the band that backed Wells in the studio. They recorded at Century III, then a video editing and post-production company on Boylston Street that took in occasional musical acts on the side. Each day, Wells drove her beat-up Ford F-100 pickup truck across the I-93 bridge into the city. Pat Wells grew up in West Newbury. She now lives in New Hampshire. Jim Davis/Jim Davis for the Globe 'It was a wonderful opportunity to work with studio musicians who were so talented,' she said. 'Joe was able to do that thing that producers do — rise above and take the 50,000-foot view.' 'I thought she was a terrific songwriter,' said Spaulding, who has a home on Plum Island. 'We had a ball, but she basically stopped making music soon after we finished.' Changing tides in the music world worked against any prospects the album may have had, Wells recalled. 'This was when disco was incredibly popular,' she said. 'The A&R guy from Sail would go around with me to the radio stations. The guy would drop the needle, listen for a short time, and say, 'Well, it's not disco.' I mean, der — it's not disco!' Advertisement The songs on 'Hometown Lady' give off echoes of Joan Baez and Janis Ian. 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Macall Polay/Netflix/MACALL POLAY/NETFLIX Mitchell's songs weren't in the budget, Malone said in a phone call, so she consulted with a company that sources music options for film and television. When that company suggested Pat Wells, Malone took one listen, 'saw that she was from New England, and I was like, 'Done and done.' 'We love using undiscovered vintage catalog,' she explained. Wells's songs 'are in the background, but they're still very important to the palette of the show. To be a little part of that story and give her that platform, it's a great feeling.' Since the release of 'Sirens,' there's been a new flurry of activity for Wells. Mcgowan just posted 'Hometown Lady' on Spotify for the first time, and in early June he received confirmation that a British label will license another of her songs, 'The Seeker,' for an upcoming compilation of 'music for a fictitious tropical resort.' 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James Sullivan can be reached at
Fast Company
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A few years ago, they faced a catastrophic disaster when thousands of farmed salmon escaped from a nearby offshore farm. The escape threatened the country's wild fish with disease, parasites, and reproductive challenges. If the practice of sea farming continues, the young women said, the country's entire population of wild salmon is at risk of dying. That's bad news for anyone who cares about fishing practices, but it's worse news for the guides. Threatened also is their families' legacy—an outcome that loomed larger in a tent full of restaurant people than the fate of the fish.
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Wrist Check: Carlos Alcaraz Celebrates 2025 Roland Garros Win in the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona "Tiffany"
Summary Spanish tennis sensationCarlos Alcarazcelebrated his hard-fought victory at the 2025 Roland Garros (French Open) by proudly sporting a luxuriousRolex Cosmograph Daytona'Tiffany' (Ref. 126518LN). His triumph on Sunday, June 8, 2025 was against Jannik Sinner in a thrilling five-set final, the longest final inRoland Garroshistory clocking in at five hour and 29 minutes. The watch, a highly sought-after piece from Rolex, features an 18k yellow gold Oyster case with a 40mm diameter. Its striking design is defined by a vibrant turquoise blue lacquer dial, which has led to its 'Tiffany' nickname, and contrasting black snailed sub-dials. The watch is powered by Rolex's in-house Calibre 4131, a perpetual mechanical chronograph movement offering a 72-hour power reserve. It's paired with a comfortable and durable black Oysterflex bracelet, which combines the robustness of a metal bracelet with the comfort of an elastomer. Unveiled at Watches & Wonders 2025, this particular Rolex Cosmograph Daytona model has a retail price of approximately $39,600 USD, though its market value can be significantly higher, reaching around $150,000 USD due to its desirability. Take a closer look at the watch above.
