Whoever would have expected mass feeding kitchens in disaster and war zones to serve up thoughtful, tasty, culturally appropriate meals to evacuees and refugees — with emphasis on the “tasty”?
Perhaps I’m a cynic, but when a nonprofit organization relies on quickly mobilizing thousands of volunteers to produce tens of thousands, even millions, of meals daily for desperately hungry displaced evacuees and refugees, I would expect an emphasis more on quantity rather than quality — more like the tasteless institutional food of my childhood school cafeterias.
I’m here to report that the recently published “The World Central Kitchen Cookbook: Feeding Humanity, Feeding Hope” proves me wrong — deliciously wrong.
It tells WCK’s origin story, its founding by prominent Spanish-born restaurateur/chef José Andrés and shares inspirational stories of the volunteers and their work, all accompanied by tempting recipes used on-site, specifically geared to local tastes. Some were contributed by “celebrity” chefs, others by longtime WCK ers, including Michelle Obama and the Duchess of Sussex.
“As a cook who had spent many years working in kitchens before creating World Central Kitchen … I never could have expected a disaster relief nonprofit to have so many requests for recipes! Recipes are a big part of our work, yes, but I think more important are the stories, histories and moments of cultural understanding that are behind each recipe and meal we serve,” Andrés wrote in the book’s introduction.
Instead of traditional cookbook organization style, Andrés and lead author Sam Chapple-Sokol focused chapters on WCK’s basic values — empathy, urgency, adaptation, hope, community, resilience and joy — illustrating them with heartwarming stories from their work in challenging conditions and the histories behind the recipes.
Full disclosure: I’ve been a fan of Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchen, the organization he founded in 2010 to harness the power of food to change the world, since both came on my radar in 2017 when Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, devastating the island.
Appalled by the incompetent and chaotic government response, Andrés organized WCK’s Chefs for Puerto Rico. They sprang into action, setting up and provisioning large field kitchens that enabled them to feed thousands of desperate people, thereby creating WCK’s model for future large-scale operations around the world. I became a regular donor when I was impressed by their early presence — right after the Russian invasion — at Ukraine’s border crossings, serving fleeing refugees, and later within Ukraine itself, despite the dangers of active war.
In a recent video, Andrés described WCK’s Ukraine emergency-response programs.
“We were there when almost nobody was there, but then when we feel that our area is covered by other (nongovernmental organizations), we move. We keep taking care of (people) where nobody shows up. That’s the World Central Kitchen way.”
Since 2017, they’ve done this repeatedly, whenever, wherever worldwide there’s a humanitarian disaster, natural or man-made, even amid active conflict hot spots. Their staff and volunteers consistently arrive early on the scene, ready to feed the hungry and traumatized, supplying locally inspired menus cooked by local chefs and restaurant workers, eager to provide both food and comfort to their communities.
The recipes in the book come from many of the disaster zones where they’ve worked. Here we’re spotlighting three of those flavor-filled recipes, a vegetarian version of Ukrainian borsch, one of many volunteers’ “grandmother” recipes used at stations along the Ukrainian borders.
Chef Karla Hoyos, a regular volunteer around the world, developed her simple one-pot creamy curry pasta recipe while at a relief kitchen following the 2021 Haiti earthquake. There she had limited refrigeration and only three large paella pans to cook 10,000 meals daily.
“When I activate a kitchen, I look at three things: What equipment do we have, how many meals are we cooking and what product do we have to work with?” Hoyos explained.
SoCal “Top Chef” season 14 competition winner Brooke Williamson, owner of Playa Del Rey’s Playa Provisions, contributed her carrot-farro salad, a versatile vegetarian recipe that was a regular in her rotation of WCK-organized hospital pandemic-delivery meals. For WCK she also recruits chefs, sets up relief work kitchens and handles logistics.
She explained that WCK relies primarily on local volunteers to staff their kitchens, with one person at each field site in charge of creating menus.
“It needs to be fluid, depending on what’s on hand, what’s available and what we can utilize without waste. Often food is donated and we have to figure out what to do with it,” Williamson said.
One recipe from the book I loved — and can still taste — is the braised pork al pastor, a practical, hearty dish WCK served with rice, black beans and tortillas to displaced California families after a 2019 earthquake.
I’m eager to try their popular firefighter chili, served regularly during California fire season. Through the chili the book’s authors provide a useful lesson on how to scale a recipe up or down, from family size to quantities for 100 or more.
It’s rare I love a cookbook so much. Buy a copy — you won’t regret it. The stories will linger with you along with the recipes. Best of all, all author proceeds WCK’s programs, feeding displaced, traumatized people in desperate situations.
Ukrainian Borsch
Commonly spelled “borscht” outside Ukraine, the classic, bright-red, slightly sour beet soup is chock-full of vegetables (and sometimes meat) and topped with sour cream and dill. Every babusia (grandmother) has her own recipe. At the WCK team’s kitchen in Poland, right on the border with Ukraine, they made many versions. This hearty vegetarian version quickly became a favorite. Starting with raw rather than canned beets takes longer but produces better results.
Makes 4 to 6 servings
3 pounds red beets, scrubbed, 2 pounds left whole; 1 pound peeled and diced
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 carrots, peeled and medium-diced
1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and medium-diced
1 small head green cabbage, shredded
1 large dill pickle, cut into ½-inch cubes, plus ½ cup pickle juice
1 cup sour cream, for garnish
1 bunch fresh dill, chopped, for garnish
In a food processor fitted with the shredding blade, shred the 2 pounds whole beets. (Alternatively, roughly chop them.) Transfer the shredded beets to a 6- to 8-quart stockpot and add 10 cups water. Set the stockpot over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer until the beets are extremely soft and the liquid deep red, about 2 hours. Strain the liquid through a sieve into a large bowl or container, pressing the cooked beets against the side of the sieve to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the pulp.
Measure the beet stock (it should be 4 to 6 cups) and add enough water to come to 10 cups. Set aside. Rinse out stockpot. Set over medium heat and add vegetable oil. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic and saute until softened, 5 to 6 minutes. Add carrots, paprika, bay leaf, salt and black pepper. Continue to cook until the carrots start to soften, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add beet stock mixture to the pot along with potatoes and diced beets and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook until the potatoes and beets are fork-tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Add cabbage and pickle and return to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until the cabbage has wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the pickle juice and cook for 2 to 3 minutes to warm through. The soup should now have a rich red color.
Taste and add salt as needed. Remove bay leaf. Serve garnished with a dollop of sour cream and chopped dill.
Brooke’s Carrot-Farro Salad
This colorful salad is bright and refreshing, nutty and rich, a great addition to a picnic basket in any season, or serve it warm as a hearty vegetarian main course. Chef Brooke Williamson cooks the farro in carrot juice so the grains soak up the earthy-sweet essence of carrot and retain a satisfying bite.
Makes 4 servings
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups farro (see Note), rinsed
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 cups pure carrot juice
Kosher salt
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
Grated zest and juice of 2 medium lemons
1 shallot, minced
6 red radishes, thinly shaved
¼ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 avocado, diced
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Freshly ground black pepper
In a large saucepan, combine 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the onions, and garlic and sweat over medium heat until they’re translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the farro and toast for 2 minutes, stirring frequently to make sure the onions and garlic don’t brown. Add the brown sugar, carrot juice, and 1 teaspoon salt and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the farro is al dente — chewy but still firm, 20 to 30 minutes. Add the diced carrots and continue to cook, stirring often, until the farro is cooked through and the carrots are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
Taste the farro and season with salt, if needed, then drain in a colander (save any leftover cooking liquid in the refrigerator to use in a salad dressing). Spread the farro out on a large sheet pan and drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, stirring to coat it well. Let it sit at room temperature until cool.
Place the cooled farro in a large bowl and toss with the lemon zest, lemon juice, shallot, radishes, and cilantro. (The salad can be made to this point up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated.) When ready to serve, add the diced avocado, gently stir, and finish with the sesame seeds and a few twists of black pepper.
Note: Look for farro from brands like Bob’s Red Mill or Earthly Choice. Make sure your farro isn’t “quick-cooking” or that the package doesn’t say “cooks in 10 minutes.”
Karla’s Creamy Curry Pasta
Chef Karla Hoyos developed this recipe while World Central Kitchen was in southern Haiti in 2021. The team created recipes including protein, vegetables and starch cooked together in one paella pan, with limited cold storage and just three paella pans to prepare 10,000 meals daily. The pasta is cooked in the richly spiced broth, with no need for prior boiling, creating an extra creamy sauce, with meatiness from the fish and mussels. Karla only had access to frozen vegetables, but feel free to use fresh carrots, zucchini and cauliflower.
Makes 6 servings
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 (13.5-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
2 tablespoons curry powder
12 ounces mixed frozen vegetables
Kosher salt
¾ cup tomato paste
1 pound penne, rigatoni, farfalle, or fusilli pasta
2 pounds fish fillets (such as snapper, halibut or grouper), cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pound mussels, scrubbed
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
In a Dutch oven, combine olive oil, garlic, ginger, coconut milk, curry powder and 8 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add frozen vegetables and 1 teaspoon salt. Return to a boil. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, until dissolved, about 2 minutes.
Add the pasta, stirring frequently so it doesn’t stick to the bottom, and cook for 8 minutes. Gently stir in the fish and mussels. Cover and cook until the pasta has absorbed all the liquid, the fish is cooked through and flaky, and the mussels have opened, 5 to 7 minutes. Discard any mussels that haven’t opened. Season with salt to taste and serve sprinkled with cilantro.
Recipes adapted from “The World Central Kitchen Cookbook: Feeding Humanity, Feeding Hope” by José Andrés and World Central Kitchen with Sam Chapple-Sokol (2023, Clarkson Potter Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House).
Sours Larson is a San Diego freelance writer.
