A stone pulpit at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, is not where chef José Andrés expected to be when he created the food charity Global Central Kitchen almost 15 years ago. But on Thursday he stood there, praising seven of the organization’s workers who were killed in the Gaza Strip while trying to carry out a singular mission: bringing food to an area of 2.2 million people facing a growing humanitarian crisis.
“They risked everything to feed people they didn’t know and would never meet,” Mr Andrés said. “They were the best of mankind.”
The seven workers were killed on April 1 after helping to unload a food aid barge in northern Gaza and headed for the southern city of Rafah. Their well-marked convoy of vehicles was hit by armed Israeli drones. Israeli military officials said the attack was a serious mistake that should not have happened. They cited a series of failures, including a breakdown in communications and violations of the military’s own rules of engagement.
An unusually reserved and occasionally tearful Mr. Andrés said he was overcome with sadness, grief and anger over the deaths. “I know there are also a lot of questions about why the World Central Kitchen was in Gaza,” he said. “We ask ourselves the same questions day and night.”
But the workers took the risk, she said, because they believed that showing up to feed people in their darkest hours would let them know they weren’t alone.
“Food is a universal human right,” said Mr. Andrés. “Feeding each other, cooking and eating together is what makes us human. The dishes we cook and deliver are not just ingredients or calories. A plate of food is a plate of hope. “
Attendance at the service, which included prayers and readings from Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders, and a musical intermission by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, was by invitation — although the service was streamed live on the World Central Kitchen website. Mr. Andrés’ organization and restaurant group are based in Washington.
Funerals for the victims have already been held, but this was the only memorial service held in the United States. Among the 560 people in attendance was Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris. representatives of three of the victims’ families; and several dozen World Central Kitchen volunteers and contractors who had worked in disasters and conflicts around the world. Only a small portion of the cathedral, where four presidential state funerals and memorials for the victims of the 9/11 attacks have been held, was filled.
While the World Central Kitchen deaths sparked global outrage, more than 220 other aid workers he was killed in Gaza.
But the seven were the first casualties suffered by the organization since Mr Andrés dreamed up the group while doing culinary relief work in Haiti after a 2010 earthquake.
His idea was simple: Chefs living in the disaster-stricken areas could feed the suffering people more quickly and often with tastier and comforting food than traditional aid organizations.
Mr. Andrés leveraged his connections, charisma and savvy use of social media to assemble an army of culinary volunteers and build World Central Kitchen into a $550 million global business.
Last week, hundreds of mourners, including Mr Andrés and a representative from the Polish president’s office, attended a Roman Catholic Mass in Przemysl, Poland, the hometown of murdered worker Damian Sobol.
Mr. Sobol, 35, an exuberant former hospitality student who was engaged, began helping World Central Kitchen feed Ukrainian war refugees pouring into a Polish train station in early 2022. He became a logistics wizard for the organization as it began operating in other places, including Gaza.
Mr. Andrés also attended a service last week in St.-Georges, Quebec, for Jacob Flickinger, 33, an avid outdoorsman and former member of the Canadian Armed Forces. Mr. Flickinger began working for the organization in October, helping to feed residents after a hurricane near Acapulco, Mexico. He then headed for Gaza.
“We discussed the risk,” said his father, John Flickinger Associated Press interview shortly after his son’s death. “He basically said, ‘Dad, people are hungry over there and I think I can help.’ And I appreciated that.”
On Thursday, Mr Andrés broke down in tears as he eulogized Lalzawmi Frankcom, 43, an Australian who everyone called Zomi. She was like a sister to him, he said — tough and funny, and the most senior member of the team in Gaza.
He first volunteered in 2018 when a volcano erupted in Guatemala and has continued to help victims of floods in Bangladesh, earthquakes in Morocco, poverty in Venezuela and wildfires in California. She was recently appointed senior director for World Central Kitchen’s Asia operations and was based in Bangkok.
Saifeddin Abutaha, a 25-year-old Palestinian with the aid group, has been translating and driving for the organization since the beginning of the year. He had returned from the United Arab Emirates to help out at his family’s flour mill. He had contacts in Israel, which helped the organization coordinate permits.
The remaining three workers — John Chapman, 57, James Kirby, 47and Jim Henderson, 33 — was part of a British security firm called Solace Global. They had been recruited as members of the organization’s security team. All three had served in various arms of the British Army.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in October 2022, World Central Kitchen went to war for the first time. When Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, the group quickly set up relief kitchens in Israel and then expanded its mission to help Palestinians in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands are on the brink of starvation.
The seven workers had spent a long day helping to unload a barge of more than 100 tonnes of food sent by World Central Kitchen and Open Arms, a Spanish non-profit organization, to the Gaza coast from Cyprus and headed to Rafah to sleep . Just after 22:00 Gaza time, the first of three cars carrying the workers was hit by armed drones. The cars—white and prominently emblazoned with World Central Kitchen logos—had been handed over by Israel for transit.
Within minutes, the drones hit the second and then the third car.
“I know we all have a lot of unanswered questions about what happened and why,” Mr. Andrés said in his eulogy. “We still demand an independent investigation into the actions of the IDF against our group.”
World Central Kitchen immediately suspended operations in Gaza after the bombing. The agency is expected to announce its next steps there soon, said Linda Roth, communications officer.
Mr. Andrés indicated that he is not likely to leave. He read a message from his brother Mr Abutaha, who wrote: “I hope World Central Kitchen will continue its humanitarian work around the world, continuing the spirit of the fallen and the resilience of the Palestinian people.”
Zach Montague contributed reporting.