By Alejandra Owens/Photo by Elizabeth Parker
By my count, Jose Andres said “People of America!” at least five times on Thursday night. It’s a familiar refrain if you spend any time listening to or hanging out with Andres (or following him on Twitter, for that matter). Appropriately, the owner of some of DC’s most popular eateries – Zaytinya, Jaleo and Mini Bar to name a few – played host and narrator to one of DC’s most popular food events, DC Central Kitchen’s Capital Food Fight.
The annual event features the city’s biggest chefs battling it out “Iron Chef”-style on stage (for glory and a pair of boxing gloves to commemorate the win), and it also draws from Andres’ personal contact list, with the likes of Anthony Bourdain and MSNBC’s Richard Wolffe making big appearances.
Todd Gray, Haidar Karoum, Jeff Black, Brian McBride and surprise guests, “Top Chef” alums Carla Hall, Jen Carroll, Spike Mendelsohn and Mike Isabella battled in rounds with secret ingredients like skate and russet potatoes. All the while, Bourdain and Andres narrate every move.
In typical DC fashion, political jokes and innuendos flowed. No one was safe from Bourdain’s caustic humor, not even his friend Andres. Bourdain once quipped that he wanted to see Andres’ birth certificate, and questioned if it was good enough to share with GOP Presidential Nominee Rick Perry. From Capitol Hill to a well-timed Kardashian joke as a duck breast was plated (we’ll let you piece that one together), the evening’s hosts had the crowd roaring.
In the end, more than $500,000 was raised for DC Central Kitchen. Perhaps part of the success of the event can be attributed to Carla Hall’s auctioneer skills? The crowd discovered the chef’s hidden talent as she helped auction off items like a year’s worth of fine dining for six people at 12 of DC’s best restaurants.
If you’re not familiar with the organization, DC Central Kitchen turns leftover food from any number of sources into millions of meals for thousands of at-risk individuals across the city, while offering nationally recognized culinary job training to once-homeless and hungry adults.
Visit DC Central Kitchen to learn how you can help their cause.
