By Susan Stapleton, Des Moines Register
Chef and humanitarian José Andrés, in Des Moines for the World Food Prize, stopped at two restaurants and a cocktail lounge during his tour of the metro.
Andrés dined at Bubba Southern Comforts on Oct. 21. The chef behind the Spanish tapas bar Jaleo and Mediterranean restaurant Zaytinya in Washington, D.C., ordered frog legs, fried green tomatoes, Dr Pepper ham, gumbo, and jambalaya during his visit to the downtown Des Moines restaurant, founding partner Chris Diebel said.
Next, he stopped by Oak Park on Ingersoll Avenue. Owner Kathy Fehrman said Andrés visited the kitchen staff, sat at the bar, and ate the carrot Wellington, New York strip, ribeye, beet salad, grilled oysters, caviar cone, and Caesar salad. “Carrot Wellington is my dish of the year!” he told Fehrman.
Bubba and Oak Park are on the Des Moines Register’s Essential Restaurants list, and Oak Park was named one of the 45 Restaurants of the Year by USA TODAY in February.
Then he visited the Bartender’s Handshake, the neighborhood cocktail lounge on Ingersoll Avenue. The bar was named one of 29 Bars of the Year by USA TODAY in July.
José Andrés is in Des Moines for the World Food Prize conference
Andrés, who owns around 40 restaurants worldwide, published a joint statement during the 2025 Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue for the World Food Prize, calling for a doubling of investment both for emergency food aid and investment in sustainable agriculture, according to a news release from the organization.
“Hunger is not someone else’s problem to solve — it is a collective challenge that demands engagement from every corner of society,” the statement signed by 28 World Food Prize Laureates reads. “Let us double down — not in words, but in action.”
Andrés created the World Central Kitchen to provide fresh meals in response to crises, disasters, and humanitarian needs. The nonprofit started in 2010 in response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti. His organization has provided meals in Gaza, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Afghanistan, as well as in response to Hurricane Maria striking Puerto Rico, the wildfires sweeping Maui, the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, and the bushfires devastating Australia, among other disasters.
Andrés also spoke during a panel discussion with former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, CEO of the World Food Prize Foundation, to discuss how to highlight humanitarianism and innovation, even in the face of conflict.
“World Central Kitchen believes food is a human right,” Andrés said during the discussion. “Every day, communities in crisis are working together — neighbors feeding neighbors—all over the world to make sure no one goes without a hot meal in conflict or disaster, but there is so much more to be done. We echo the call for the international community to increase humanitarian support, invest in resilient food systems, and empower local solutions to end hunger.”
Andrés also spoke to more than 180 students from nine different countries who traveled to Des Moines for the Global Youth Institute.
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