Superhero Chef José Andrés Comes Back to SXSW

South by Southwest, aka SXSW, announced its latest string of featured speakers, which includes notable DC chef José Andrés. He will join Andrew Zimmern (who was already announced last fall) and former Food & Wine editor Dana Cowin in a conversation during the giant interactive/film/music festival in March 2018.

There’s a great reason why Andrés was named Eater’s Icon of the Year in 2017. He has taken it upon himself to feed people affected by the numerous natural disasters that have been plaguing the world through his nonprofit World Central Kitchen. He and the company served over three million meals on Puerto Rico after the country was wrecked from Hurricane Maria in the fall. Before that, he and his team fed Houston after Hurricane Harvey hit the city in late August.

Andrés is quite critical of President Donald Trump as well, because of the president’s stances on immigration, politics, and the lack of support for Puerto Rico, among other issues. Andrés even went as far as pulling out of his restaurant out of his forthcoming hotel in DC in 2015 and had to endure legal conflicts.

This isn’t the first time Andrés has made SXSW appearances. He cooked exclusive dinners for the past two years, including one with Austin pitmaster Aaron Franklin. He spoke on several panels and judged a karaoke contest with Anthony Bourdain too.

The rest of the SXSW 2018’s speaker lineup includes director Rian Johnson, model/entrepreneur Karlie Kloss, actress/director/writer Lena Dunham, Chelsea Manning, and others.

SXSW takes place from Friday, March 9 through Sunday, March 18.

• Featured Speakers [SXSW]
• Andrew Zimmern Will Speak at SXSW 2018 [EATX]
• All SXSW Coverage [E]