The Top 10 Lines From WSJ's José Andrés Profile

The Wall Street Journal Magazine has a delightful profile of DC's very own José Andrés out today. The writer shares a meal at the Spanish chef's house, describes him working with interns at the DC Central Kitchen, dines at Minibar and even trails along with Andrés and Anthony Bourdain while they film the elBulli episode of No Reservations. Naturally, the piece is stuffed with one-liners that exemplify Andrés and his out-sized personality. Here are 10 of the best:

1) On how José Andrés is everything at once: "I've heard him compared to a force of nature, the Energizer Bunny, the Tasmanian devil, Luke Skywalker, King Louis XIV, Ferran Adrià and a hurricane of love."

2) The obligatory Washington dig: "Yes, he works his political contacts—he wouldn't be an adopted Washingtonian if he didn't."

3) Anthony Bourdain on José Andrés: "He's everything Alice Waters wants to be, but with a Spanish accent."

4) José Andrés on how busy he is between his many, many projects and how it doesn't matter that this keeps him from tending to Minibar every day: "If I was behind this bar every day, it would need to cost $5,000 a person to have me cooking exclusively for you. I can disappear tomorrow and this company will run."

5) Ferran Adrià on José Andrés: "He's one of the cooks I admire most because he understands how to perfectly combine creativity and passion with economic pragmatism. That's where his greatness and his importance lie."

6) José Andrés on the dishes you'll find at Minibar: "If you don't think this is art, then you're a pretentious bastard."

7) Don't try to argue with José Andrés: "Lesson One: Andrés always has the last word."

8) On keeping it real: "His TV personality differs from his real-life persona in no immediately discernible way—it's José Andrés, 24 hours a day."

9) More on how José Andrés is everything at once: "It's part of the contradiction of José Andrés: a man fighting hunger who himself can consume enough for four; a cook without a high-school diploma who lectures on food at Harvard; a swollen-hearted crusader who works to stretch scraps into meals for D.C.'s homeless on one block, then serves 30-course feasts to VIPs on the next."

10) José Andrés on what's next in life: "Maybe one day I'd like to be in politics. I'd love to be a mayor."

· José Andrés Wants to Feed the World (And You) [WSJ]
· All Previous José Andrés Coverage [-EDC-]

[R. Lopez]