By Rachele Viard
Chef Jose Andres hopes that by boosting the profile of Haitian cuisine, he can inspire more travelers to visit.
Chef Andres is hosting a one-hour special titled “Undiscovered Haiti with Jose Andres” that will air on PBS. The special is based on Andres’ numerous culinary trips to Haiti.
The special will air this fall and can also be watched online.
“It’s a great country,” Andres said. The special shows Andres sampling local dishes such as spicy pikliz – a garnish made of cabbage, peppers, carrots and onions – to akasan, a sweet, thick milky beverage.
It’s “the best of Africa, the best of the Caribbean, the best of America … all here,” he says in the show, and is a destination for adventurous travelers.
Andres founded nonprofit World Central Kitchen, after his first trip to Haiti after the earthquake. World Central Kitchen fights hunger and poverty in developing nations. He also opened a bakery in an orphanage in Haiti, which now is a successful business that generates several thousands of dollars a month in revenue.