Food Oscars give nod to Jose Andres

Small plates have earned Jose Andres one of the food world’s biggest honors.

The man credited with popularizing tapas — the Spanish custom of dining on small, shared plates — was named the nation’s most outstanding chef Monday during the James Beard Foundation’s annual awards ceremony, the so-called Oscars of the culinary crowd.

Andres has been praised for a string of successful restaurants around the country — most notably Jaleo and minibar by Jose Andres in Washington, D.C. — which challenged the conventional thinking that anything but heaping portions would leave American diners unsatisfied.

Recently, Andres — who grew up outside Barcelona and moved to the U.S. 21 years ago after training with famed Spanish chef Ferran Adria — has become known almost as much for his politics as for what he puts on the plate. He has spoken often — and even lobbied friends in Congress — on issues including school lunch standards, childhood obesity, hunger, subsidies for agribusiness and food marketing.

“Food is the most powerful thing we have in our hands. Not only chefs, but everyone in the food community. The right use of food can end hunger,” Andres said Monday after accepting his award. “We have the responsibility to make sure that not only our great nation, but the world will always be better using food in the right way.”

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/05/09/food-oscars-nod-jose-andres-danny-meyer/#ixzz1M4Rn88TA