Andres oversees chefs preparing eel for its final flourish, cutting it into thin strips, dredging in three types of flour and then sautéing it with cilantro, the Associated Press reports.
He tells the viewers, “People of the world, I know you don’t usually eat eel. But if you try it, you’ll love it.” “Nothing can be more simple and complex at the same time.”
This eel is just one delicious moment in Discovery+’s “José Andrés and Family in Spain,” which follows the chef, restaurateur, and humanitarian on a food tour across his homeland with his three American-raised daughters, Carlotta, Inés, and Lucia Andrés.
The ladies join their father as they visit places like Barcelona, Madrid, Andalusia, Valencia, the Canary Islands and Asturias, where he was born and where he made food, he says. It’s a travel show, a cooking show, and a parenting show, all wrapped up in a celebration of Spain and proud parenthood.
“I think going with my dad and going to all these places was very special because he’s a very curious person,” Carlotta Andrés said in a recent interview with her dad at The Bazaar, Andrés’ larger rooftop bar at The Ritz-Carlton in New York. “That’s the kind of person he is and no journey is the same if he isn’t there.”
Jose Andrés’ infectious, energetic spirit is pervasive throughout, a whirlwind of passion for food and respect for its source. It cheers both the deconstructive brilliance of the majestic El Bulli restaurant and also the unassuming street food.
The tapas turned out to be a perfect reflection of his philosophy of taking food from place to place and taking many things, cold and hot, fish, meat and vegetables and making it a celebration of ingredients, hard work and life.
“If I were President of the World, I would make it mandatory for everyone to travel around the world for a year of their life from country to country, culture to culture, continent to continent. If we all did that, the world would be a magical place. That’s what this show celebrates “.
In Barcelona, José and his daughters ride electric scooters around the city, entering restaurants, markets, and cafés while a dad dallies with his old culinary friends, offering a delicious inside tour that includes tapas, red shrimp, sparkling wine, and croquettes.
Andrés the Elder, who brought attention to Spanish food and helped shine a light on human disasters, can do so with his World Central Kitchen. North African influence on the region is evident in dishes such as ham and eggs with artichokes and roasted lamb skewers.
Hold yourself tight. One of his daughters comments, “He’s already in the kitchen making a mess.”
In Andalusia, they drink the famous summer vegetable soup gazpacho and taste various dishes, highlighting the bluefin tuna, which is a local delicacy. They celebrate the North African influence on the region in dishes like ham and eggs with artichokes and roasted lamb skewers.
“Happiness happens when you mix different people, different colors and different places in one plate,” Jose Andres says on screen. In another moment, he offers this brilliant challenge: “Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you who you are.”
There’s flamenco dancing, and a trip to buy candy baked by solitary secret nuns that the family calls the “spiritual brownie moment.” The girls tried their hand at making churros and later a shrimp pie called tortellitas de camarones. They milk goats, harvest salt from tidal pools, paraglide, and dive for barnacle geese, known in Spain as peregrines.
Through it all, José Andrés has been a hype man for Spanish cuisine, comically arguing that surf, turf, pizza, open-faced sandwiches called tostas, and beer were all brewed in his native land, and that Spanish versions of Crème brûlée and prosciutto are vastly superior to Other country versions. “Everything was invented in Spain!” Shout.
He later explains: “I think every culture should be proud of who they are and even chauvinistic about it. In my case, sometimes I take it to extremes.” “Stand up for yourself, stand up for what you know. In a way, you’re celebrating everyone.”
Spicy patatas bravas, cups of sangria, and pyramids of regal pastry were on the menu in Madrid, while Valencia offered travelers the best paella in the world. “You think you’ve tasted the real thing, think again,” the chef warns viewers.
The family hopes the series will inspire other families to get out and explore, especially after the pandemic. “Spain is the excuse,” says José Andrés. “Sometimes we have the most exciting things right before our eyes.”
“You can go to the Chesapeake Bay and have an amazing moment of discovery. You can go to Virginia and discover Virginia’s wine country. Everyone thinks you have to go to the most remote part of your world. The excitement is not in the places. The excitement is in you.”