José Andrés on 60 Minutes: Meat Is Overrated, Fruit and Vegetables Are Sexy

Tonight 60 Minutes ran a profile of Spanish chef José Andrés who runs eight restaurants in the US, with Anderson Cooper stopping by at Andrés' six-seat, avant-garde restaurant minibar by josé andrés in Washington, DC to sample some dishes of the molecular gastronomy bent. "Minibar is a window into creativity, that's all," said Andrés, who previously trained at Ferran Adrià's El Bulli, while showing off dishes including a deconstructed clam chowder.

In the segment, Andres called meat "overrated" and "slightly boring," saying, "I believe the future is vegetables and fruits. They are so much more sexier than a piece of chicken... Let's compare a chicken breast, the best chicken breast from the best farm with a beautiful pineapple. Cut the pineapple, already the aromas are inundating the entire kitchen. Acidity. Sour after notes, touches of passion fruit."

Andres continued: "I love meat too but only once in a while. You get a piece of meat and you put it in your mouth, you chew, the first five seconds, all the juices flow around your mouth, they're gone, and then you are 20 more seconds chewing something that is tasteless at this point. Something like this doesn't happen with a pineapple, an asparagus, or a green pea."

And then Ruth Reichl steps in to describe Andrés' cooking: "It's not a gimmick, it's a kind of magic, it's like a circus of the mouth."

Video: Jose Andres on 60 Minutes

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· All José Andrés Coverage on Eater [-E-]