A conversation with my co-author

Richard Wolffe and I discuss Change the Recipe

People of Substack!

I’m so happy to share with you the inside story of my new book, Change The Recipe. As you know, after all these many months of Substacks, there are so many stories to share about food, family, friends and life. Change The Recipe is my first book that brings these stories together from my life.

You can snack on them, or eat them together in one big feast. It’s that kind of book.

Photo by Cindy Ord

I wrote Change The Recipe with my old friend Richard Wolffe. We have been writing together and working together for so many years. We thought you might like to learn more about the book by us chatting about it….

Richard: We should tell people why we wrote this book, right? I mean, it’s different from all the others.

José: It’s different and it’s not so different.

Richard: No, it’s different. Most of the others are cookbooks. Apart from We Fed An Island, about feeding Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.

José: Yes, but recipes are stories too. Food always tells a story. Everyone has stories to tell. You just need to know where to find them.

Richard: OK, but these are your stories of your life and career. There are just a few recipes at the end, and those are really for students, or people with just a microwave oven. So it’s different.

José: Well, that is the reality of this book. We’ve been talking forever, especially with my wife Tichi, about a book of stories to help students, young people, people starting out in life – people like our daughters, Carlota, Inés and Lucia. It’s not easy to find a way to start, or to change. It’s not like someone gives you instructions or a guidebook for life. I don’t think I have all the answers. In fact, the more I know, the more I know that I know nothing. But maybe there are some tips here, some lessons, some advice that can help people, based on what happened to me.

Richard: Maybe! I think people want to know the secret sauce of how you do what you do.

José: What if there is no secret sauce? Or the secret is really simple and obvious?

Richard: Even better! That means more people can do more with their lives.

José: It’s not like I had a plan. You know I don’t believe in planning. Just moving, moving. I’m like Dory in Finding Nemo. Just keep swimming. I do believe that’s how you learn, by adapting, by making mistakes, trying new things, tasting new flavors, sailing to new horizons. It’s like Inés said when I told her it was too dangerous to go to Ukraine together: how can we change the world if we don’t take risks?

Richard: When people ask: how do you find the time to do it all? To feed in disaster zones and war zones, and run so many restaurants, and host TV shows. What do you say?

José: I say I don’t know. I say I’m tired. I say you’re only as good as the team you have around you.

Richard: And what’s the real answer?

José: Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. It’s why I left home as a young teenager to go to culinary school. Why I got my first job as a chef running a great restaurant in Spain when I had not a clue how to run anything. Why I joined Ferran Adrià as he was pushing the boundaries of the whole world of chefs. Why I sailed the world with the Spanish navy and why I came to America.

That’s what it means to Change The Recipe. You don’t start by changing the world. You start by changing your life, by changing your decisions. How do you think Clara Barton started the American Red Cross? She was just one woman, helping families in the civil war. One person can make a difference, but you need to start with yourself.

It’s like going to a restaurant with a big group of friends. If you’re a party of 24 people, you could ask for one big table or you could ask for six tables of four. The person asking for the big table for 24 will be seated later, because it takes a long time to set that up. The person asking for six tables will be seated more quickly, and eat more quickly, because the kitchen knows how to prepare food for tables of four. By the time the smaller tables are paying and getting ready to leave, the big table will still be waiting for its appetizers.

You don’t feed people after a disaster by trying to feed everyone. You start small and grow quickly. The same is true in life. Start by stepping towards your new horizon. You will arrive sooner than you think is possible.

Richard: What did we miss in this book?

José: I didn’t miss anything. You did.

Richard: OK, so what did I miss in this book?

José: There are so many stories. Like the one about the James Beard dinner when the whole tray of desserts fell on the floor. You missed that one. But you know, everyone has stories and everyone should write their own stories. I wish my mom and dad had written their stories down. I think it helps us to understand each other, and maybe ourselves too.

Richard: What stories should our Substack friends know about how we work together?

José: You cheat at darts but I always win.

Richard: I’m not the one who cheats. You’re the one who steps over the line.

José: I’m a machine. I beat you with my eyes closed.