Jose Andres: Jose Made in Spain

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Waiting for Mario Batali and Gwyneth Paltrow's tour of Spain? Don't. Instead, watch someone who knows the country and the cuisine better and has proven it. José Andrés. Get to know that name now, because 2008 is the year of Jose Andres. José Made in Spain, a 26-episode food, wine and travel show, premiers on PBS February 2 - check your local PBS station for time. The show follows José as he explores different regions of Spain. José visits markets, vendors, farms, and the ocean. He meets a goat cheese maker, a Spanish wine producer, a purveyor of Iberian ham, and a homemaker preparing paella, and other Spanish cooks or restaurateurs. Back in Washington DC, he prepares Spanish dishes with ingredients found in America – luckily almost all the ingredients can be found here. Super Chef got a sneak peak at a promo for the show. He seems to devour a table load of food; he demonstrates how to fry small cheese-stuffed peppers – then he takes you to the very fields where the peppers are grown, sampling flowers and showing off the tiny green peppers. The first episode takes Jose to his home region of Asturias where he fishes for barnacles and makes a sweet and sour cheese and tomato salad with honey and vinegar. On the show, Jose is a rascal – he's too big to be an imp – but he is mischievous, definitely enjoying hosting a show. He has had one in Spanish - Vamos a Cocinar on Television Espanola (TVE and TVE International) for years. It's high time he also speaks to an English-speaking audience. He is clearly enamored of Spanish food and happy to teach, explore and share his passion – is this food television or the Spanish tourist bureau's ultimate dream? Clarkson Potter will publish a companion book to the series this fall. More importantly, Jose and his THINKfoodGROUP signed a deal with SBE Hotel Group, and will open the SLS in Beverly Hills this summer 2008. Spain's cuisine has joined the ranks of the world's greatest. It may be that PBS has scored with one of the most fun and interesting new shows on food. Previous articles: Mario Dumps Iron Chef for Gwyneth Paltrow Washingtonian: Power 150 Jose Andres Jose Andres: Tapas Jose Andres: Zaytinya with Ladies in Lavender [Food Television - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, Jose Andres --> back to Super Chef