Most recently, WCK has worked to feed people who were left without jobs during COVID, with an emphasis on the culinary community. Last year, before it even opened, Red Rooster Overtown partnered with WCK and Food Rescue US to serve meals to Miamians during the pandemic.
The chef and humanitarian will appear virtually tonight (Monday, May 17) at the Broward College Speaker Series. The topic, Changing the World Through the Power of Food will address how everyone can help end hunger by starting with a simple gesture.
In the meantime,
New Times checked in with Andrés, hoping to pick up some hints as to how Miamians can help feed their neighbors.
Laine Doss Laine Doss is the food and spirits editor for
Miami New Times, covering the restaurant and bar scene in South Florida. She has been featured on Cooking Channel’s
Eat Street and Food Network’s
Great Food Truck Race. Doss won an Alternative Weekly award for her feature on what it’s like to wait tables. In a previous life, she appeared off-Broadway and shook many a cocktail as a bartender at venues in South Florida and New York City. When she’s not writing, you can find Doss running some marathon then celebrating at the nearest watering hole.
Few strings are attached. New employees must be hired before Ch i opens and they must work at least 90 days to earn the bonus. Emi Guerra, cofounder of Breakwater Hospitality Group and a partner in Ch i, says the shortage of hospitality-industry workers isn t limited to Miami. It s really a national problem. Everyone in the hospitality industry speaks to each other, and this is a universal problem. Guerra says that when the pandemic hit, employees at restaurants, bars, clubs, and hotels were the hardest hit. Some filed for unemployment and are still collecting, while others have moved on to other cities or other jobs. People had to make career changes. That s something to do with the lack of talented candidates.