Guy Fieri and José Andrés are two renowned chefs with restaurants all over the globe, but currently, the two cooks are putting their skills to good use in the United States, as they cook for those impacted by the Carr fire in Northern California.
The blaze, which began on Monday, July 23, is already on track to be one of the most destructive fires in the history of the Golden State, and it is nowhere near contained. In fact, as of Monday, July 30, the Carr Fire has destroyed 966 structures, making it the ninth-most destructive fire in California history, according to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, statistics.
Per other Cal Fire numbers, the fast-moving flames have already burned through 98,724 acres, and are expanding by more than 23,000 acres each day. Given the severity of the blaze, an estimated 39,000 people have been evacuated, and hundreds of firefighters are working to extinguish the fire.
That’s why both Fieri and Andrés are doing whatever they can to help. On Sunday, July 29, Andrés tweeted that his World Central Kitchen Relief Team is “on the ground in Redding, California to serve the #CarrFire evacuee shelters & emergency crews!”
Our @WCKitchen Relief Team is on the ground in Redding, California to serve the #CarrFire evacuee shelters & emergency crews! Coordinating with @Cal_OES @RedCross @SalvationArmyUS to deliver hot meals with our Food First Responder partners @GuyFieri @OpBBQRelief! More soon… pic.twitter.com/16j2eIw5uu
— José Andrés (@chefjoseandres) July 30, 2018
Andrés, 49, added that his organization, which has also provided relief after Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico nearly a year ago, is coordinating with the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Service, the Red Cross, and the Salvation Army. He also noted that Fieri and Operation BBQ Relief, which itself was formed in 2011 after a tornado ripped through Joplin, Missouri, are the “Food First Responder partners.”
In a phone interview with CNN from Redding, California, where the fire has been particularly destructive, Fieri, 50, said, “My team and I got involved – my son and I, and his buddies, and a bunch of mine – loaded up our caravan from the wine country and drove four hours up here. We’re just working arm-in-arm with the Salvation Army and local chefs and residents, and everybody helping out all the evacuees.”
The Guy’s Family Road Trip star, who also served food to firefighters and evacuees during the 2017 California wildfire season, added that feeding thousands of people at once isn’t the “simplest thing” but said his team of 20 volunteers, plus others from the Salvation Army, have made all the difference.
“We just did lunch for 750 [people] and we’re getting ready to do dinner for that same group right now, trying to keep the menu interesting,” Fieri explained.
On Twitter, Andrés called Fieri “an amazing individual, genuine guy.”
According to statistics from World Central Kitchen, the kitchen established in Redding has been delivering 5,000 meals per day to fire evacuation centers and emergency responders.
