World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés chats with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in November 2022 as Zelenskyy dedicates a plaque to the chef on Kyiv’s “Alley of Bravehearts” for his feeding Ukrainians during the war with Russia. (Photo: .José Andrés/Instagram)
This story has been updated.
By Gary Gately
Catholic chef José Andrés — whose World Central Kitchen (WCK) has provided 300 million meals across Ukraine since Russia’s unprovoked, full-scale invasion 4½ years ago — has been honored with a “National Legend of Ukraine” award, one of the country’s highest state distinctions, from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Andrés recalled flying from Miami to Poland, just across Ukraine’s border, within 24 hours of the February 24, 2022, Russian invasion and working alongside nuns from Caritas, the Vatican’s international charitable network, to prepare and serve hot meals to refugees streaming out of Ukraine. The WCK mission quickly spread, going to open kitchens in Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Lviv, Kherson and Kramatorsk.
“World Central Kitchen is still cooking and feeding in the most difficult places near the front lines,” the 57-year-old Andrés said through a WCK statement. “From the first day, World Central Kitchen has supported Ukrainians feeding Ukrainians. Ukraine feeds the world — not only with the amazing grain it produces, but right now, Ukraine is also feeding the world with hope. I’m very proud to stand alongside the amazing men and women of Ukraine. They are fighting for all of us to be free.”
Zelenskyy presented 18 National Legend of Ukraine awards during a ceremony at the Mariinskyi Palace in Kyiv. Recipients included Ukrainian journalist Alla Mazur, American actor Sean Penn and, posthumously, Serhii Kuzminskyi, leader of the rock band Braty Hadiukiny, who died in August 2009 at age 46.
The Ukrainian president established the award in 2021 to recognize Ukrainian citizens, as well as foreign nationals and stateless persons, for outstanding contributions to Ukraine’s independence and statehood; the defense of the country and service to the Ukrainian people; charitable and civil engagement; and the national economy, science, education, culture, the arts, sports and healthcare.
Andrés actually marked the 300 million-meal milestone in a March Instagram post, writing: “When I think back to those freezing first days of our response at the border in 2022, we could not imagine how many meals we would serve…or how long the war would last. Behind every single meal is a @wckitchen Ukrainian Food Fighter and the countless locals who help power our efforts — chefs, volunteers, firefighters, medics—who never stop showing up. Through blackouts, through sirens, through everything.”
Thousands commented on the post, praising and thanking Andrés for his work in Ukraine, including Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof, and Natalie Portman, the acclaimed Israeli-American actress, director and producer.
Yuliya Stefanyuk, WCK’s Ukraine response director, said Andrés and WCK have “stood with Ukrainians, showing that food can be an act of solidarity and a source of hope” since the war’s earliest days.
Zelenskyy had embraced Andrés at an August 21 Berlin gathering of ambassadors of UNITED24, Ukraine’s official government fundraising platform. Andrés had first been honored by Zelenskyy in November 2022, with a presidential Order of Merit for his work feeding Ukrainians. The president then dedicated a plaque to Andrés on Kyiv’s “Alley of Bravehearts.”
Catholic chef José Andrés is shown in front of Kyiv’s Dormition Cathedral, at the center of an 11th-century monastic complex. (Photo: X)
WCK has continued expanding the Ukraine operation Andrés started at the border with a handful of nuns. The group now partners with Ukrainian chefs, restaurants, community kitchens and local staff to deliver meals and food kits at border crossings, train stations, formerly occupied cities including Bucha, Irpin and Kherson, and front-line towns.
Andrés — who arrived in the U.S. with $50 in his pocket as an immigrant from Spain at age 21 — founded World Central Kitchen in 2010 after traveling with his wife, Patricia, to Haiti following the devastating earthquake that year in the Caribbean nation. He quickly came up with the idea behind WCK: Tap into the skills of professional cooks to get freshly prepared meals to survivors fast, on the front lines of humanitarian, climate and community crises. Since then, WCK has mobilized worldwide to feed hundreds of millions of people affected by natural disasters, pandemics and war, including its ongoing response in Gaza.
Vatican diplomat tells Russian counterpart Russia-Ukraine war “must end”
On Tuesday, a high-ranking Holy See diplomat said that the 4 ½-year Russia-Ukraine war “must end” after his meeting in Moscow with Russia’s foreign minister, in the first in-person talks between the Vatican and Russia in nearly two years.
Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states and international organizations, said “the conflict cannot be resolved by military means,” adding, “It is essential to create the conditions for a serious political and diplomatic process.”
Standing alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after their meeting, Gallagher told reporters: “Let us be clear: This war must end…. Engaging in authentic dialogue implies recognition of the fact that the longer the conflict continues, the more difficult it will be to arrive at an adequate resolution, while the sufferings of the population continue to increase.”
For his part, Lavrov said that despite “geopolitical upheaval” since he last met with Gallagher in November 2021 — 3 1/2 months before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine — relations between Russia and the Vatican remain “marked by trust, friendship and pragmatism.” He described Tuesday’s meeting as a “very useful conversation.”
Before Tuesday, the last Vatican diplomatic mission to Moscow came in October 2024, when Pope Francis’ envoy to seek peace in Ukraine, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, met with Lavrov and other Russian officials.
Pope Leo XIV has repeatedly appealed for an end to the conflict and in a June 2025 phone call urged Russian President Vladimir V. Putin “to make a gesture that would promote peace” while stressing the importance of dialogue, the Holy See Press Office said at the time.
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