José Andrés Shares Anthony Bourdain’s Influence on His New Show

“José Andrés and Family in Spain" debuted this week

Jose Andres
Jose Andres speaks at the José Andrés and Family in Spain D+ Series reception at Mercado Little Spain on December 15, 2022 in New York City.
John Lamparski/Getty Images for HBO

If you’re a fan of good food, Spanish history or the work of World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés — or all of the above — you may well be watching the new discovery+ series José Andrés and Family in Spain. (You can probably guess what the show is about, based on the title.) And, in a recent interview with People, Andrés shared one of the biggest influences on the series — the late Anthony Bourdain.

“I’m still a learner on that front, but sometimes I try to emulate him, and I know my daughters sometimes try, too,” Andrés said in the interview.

Elsewhere in the interview, Andrés spoke of Bourdain’s influence on his broader approach to storytelling. “I had a good mentor. He was a poet,” Andrés told People. “He was a guy that understood the moment and was able to transform the moment into a phrase that we’ll forever remember.”

If early reviews of the series are any indication, Andrés has developed a good sense for crafting memorable television. The Washington Post‘s Tim Carman dubbed the show “heartwarming” in his review, which compares Andrés’s role on the series to the work of Bourdain and Stanley Tucci on similarly-minded shows.

“[T]he series has a charisma all its own, too,” Carman writes. “It’s a protracted Take Your Daughters to Work Day, when your father just happens to be a famous chef — and one of the world’s biggest (non-cured) hams.” As culinary television goes, it sounds like José Andrés and Family in Spain fits neatly into an impressive tradition.

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