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We Fed an Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time

José Andrés,

Richard Wolffe

Discussion: 2018-July-Aug-Sept

Why we're reading this: September 13, 2018
[close] September 13, 2018

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May 11, 2020 Tiffany rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: covid-lockdown-2020, vulcan-reads

I've been wanting to read this book since it first came out -- it seemed like a fascinating story of everyday people (well, okay, he's a famous chef, not "everyday people," but his group also wasn't a government relief agency) helping after a disaster.

Last November, it was time to pick my next book to read on the bus, and of course I went overboard and checked out too many from the library. So this book sat in my bedroom since November 2019, waiting to be read. The end of February comes around, I've been wanting to read this book since it first came out -- it seemed like a fascinating story of everyday people (well, okay, he's a famous chef, not "everyday people," but his group also wasn't a government relief agency) helping after a disaster.

Last November, it was time to pick my next book to read on the bus, and of course I went overboard and checked out too many from the library. So this book sat in my bedroom since November 2019, waiting to be read. The end of February comes around, and I still have the book, and can only renew it one more time, and it's the next book in the pile to read on the bus. And then... COVID-19 strikes. My work closes down, so I figure I can try to speed read the book before it's due. Then the community begins to close down, and the library closes its doors, including its book drops, and says there aren't going to be any due dates any time soon. So yay, I can read this book at a proper pace and don't have to feel guilty about having an overdue book.

As I'm reading, though, it's kind of interesting the similarities between the Hurricane Maria aftermath and the COVID-19 crisis. People unable to feed themselves (either because there's no power or because they haven't received a paycheck in months), so relief agencies and volunteer groups get creative in order to help large groups of people en masse. After being in Puerto Rico for a while, Chef Andres and his crew move to a coliseum to use its kitchen, and I was reminded of local sports stadiums (e.g., Seattle's CenturyLink Field) being used as makeshift hospitals during the pandemic as well as stadium kitchens (again, CenturyLink Field) being used as community kitchens to make, pack, and send lunches to people who are having trouble right now.

This is an amazing story of "everyday people" coming together to help their community members. It's an incredible story of people helping during one particular natural disaster, but it was reassuring to read this book at the same time I'm seeing similar activities happening in response to COVID-19. We can come together to help each other during natural disasters, as well as health crises... we should try to keep that spirit even during the good times.

As others have said, this book could maybe use some editing. There were quite a few points (as another Goodreads reviewer pointed out: the MREs) that were reiterated over and over. On the one hand, yes, perhaps Andres (and Wolffe) are trying to emphasize those points (what was at stake, what terrible alternatives there were, the inefficiencies of the government agencies), but it felt like it could be reduced. A timeline would have also been nice: this is obviously a chronological story (documenting a historical event), but there are a few times that the narration bounces back or forward in time, then returns. Plus, I also had trouble keeping track of how long Andres and the chefs had been operating when such-and-such happened. There are quite a few references to "four weeks after the hurricane," or "on our seventh day there," but a few times I still got lost.

But those are minor issues. It's a great book, and a great story of people coming together to help their neighbors, their countrymen, strangers, and fellow citizens of the world. ...more

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Aug 17, 2019 Lori rated it really liked it · review of another edition

4.5 stars. A fascinating account of the aftermath of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico, told from the standpoint of a compassionate chef who wanted to get food to everyone on the island. Nightmarish bureaucratic red tape, frustration, amazing cooks, wonderful volunteers, and lots of delicious-sounding food.

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