World Central Kitchen Continues Work After Being Hit By Airstrike

If you've followed the work of chef José Andrés, then you're likely familiar with World Central Kitchen (WCK), the non-profit founded back in 2010 in order to provide free, hot meals to Haitians who were displaced by that year's massive earthquake. WCK has gone on to provide food relief to those affected by crisis and hardship across the world, from post-Hurricane Maria Puerto Rico to the explosion-rocked city of Beirut, Lebanon (via José Andrés) to, more recently, supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia by feeding both Ukrainian refugees fleeing to Poland as well as citizens staying behind in cities including Odessa, Lviv, and Kyiv.

Andrés and his WCK team have faced hardships since arriving in Ukraine, including spartan conditions and below freezing temperatures. And unfortunately, news broke on April 16 that WCK's headquarters in Kharkiv, Ukraine, which had been operating out of the restaurant Yaposhka, was destroyed in an airstrike.

As reported by Eater, chef José Andrés's World Central Kitchen (WCK) location in Kharkiv, Ukraine was destroyed by a missile strike on Saturday, injuring four staff members. Nate Mook, WCK's CEO, shared the news in a tweet on Saturday, writing, "An update I hoped I'd never have to make. I'm at a [World Central Kitchen] restaurant in Kharkiv, where less than 24 hours ago I was meeting with their amazing team. Today, a missile struck. [Four] staff were wounded. This is the reality here — cooking is a heroic act of bravery." The New York Times reported that the missile strike killed at least two people and wounded 18, and that there were additional attacks in Kharkiv on April 17.

Andrés also tweeted the news, sharing that WCK's injured staff members are recovering well. "To everyone caring and sending good wishes to the team in Kharkiv, thank you, the injured are fine, and everyone is ready and willing to start cooking in another location," he wrote. "All our friends are TRUE heroes! Many ways to fight, we do it with food!"

Eater reports that WCK has served 11 million meals in Ukraine since the start of the conflict, and, luckily, it appears as though efforts in Kharkiv will continue. On Sunday, Mook shared a video of the WCK team loading its supplies to head to a new kitchen.