It may be time to add “baseball star” to José Andrés’s long list of accolades. The chef-turned-global humanitarian will throw out the first pitch at the Nationals game on Tuesday, June 15, as the team takes on the Pittsburgh Pirates at 6:15 PM.
This is the second time Andrés is testing his pitching arm. The first was pretty dramatic: the World Series Game 5, while Andrés’s arch rival, Donald Trump, glowered from the stands. What unfolded was to be expected. Andrés thanked the MLB for “inviting an immigrant to throw the first pitch” and did the Baby Shark dance, while Trump was, well, booed (he wasn’t happy).
The tension should be less evident this time around. Andrés is returning to the stadium as part of the first World Central Kitchen Day at Nationals Park. During the pandemic, the restaurateur’s charity took over the kitchens at the park and turned out up to 250,000 free meals a day for people impacted by Covid-19 (here’s an inside look at how he did it). On Tuesday, the Nationals will host the staff and volunteers of World Central Kitchen and have a special pregame ceremony that celebrates their efforts. Half of the proceeds from Tuesday’s 5050 raffle will benefit WCK. And if you’re collecting bobbleheads, consider adding Andrés. A limited edition doll is available on foco.com, with a portion of the sale benefiting World Central Kitchen.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
