Jose Andres on his friend Duchess Meghan: ‘I think the work she does is great’

Last year, Chef Jose Andres joined the board of Earthshot after being hotly pursued by Kensington Palace. You see, KP is obsessed with everything the Duke and Duchess of Sussex do and who they hang out with, and the Sussexes have spent years supporting Andres and World Central Kitchen. Sources close to Prince William ran to the Daily Beast to brag about how William successfully “poached” Andres from the Sussexes, and how this poaching was somehow, remarkably, humiliating for the Sussexes. As opposed to being humiliating for William, that he’s such a stalker and a loser. What was even funnier about that whole storyline is that just a few weeks later, Andres met up with Prince Harry in NYC and even posted a nice photo with Harry.

Earlier this year, during the California wildfires, the Sussexes showed support for Andres at one of the WCK hubs serving meals to first-responders, volunteers, evacuees and firefighters. Andres once again went on the record, praising his friends. During the Time100 Summit, Meghan also confirmed that Andres would appear in Season 2 of With Love, Meghan. So much for Andres choosing sides, huh? In case anyone needed all of this underlined yet again, Andres has once again spoken publicly about how much he loves Harry and Meghan. Especially Meghan.

Celebrity chef Jose Andres has weighed in on Meghan Markle’s As Ever business venture – before comparing her to Melania Trump. Despite the Duchess of Sussex being met with scathing reviews following the launch of her new lifestyle project, Andrés remains steadfast in his support. In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, conducted at the City Harvest Gala in New York City, the Michelin-starred humanitarian opened up about his admiration for the mom-of-two.

‘Listen, I think the work she does is great. She is great,’ Andrés said passionately. ‘She could be a person that goes into her own world and forgets about the real world but – what I can only say as her friend – she’s a friend, but also she’s there in the fire. She doesn’t need to be out [in the public eye] but she is there.’

Discussing Markle’s As Ever brand in more depth – most notably, the jam spread that has become a hotly-contested topic – Andrés fiercely defended his pal.

‘It’s good. It’s good. It’s very good,’ the famed restauranteur said, having been sent a jar directly by Markle herself. He then addressed the fierce criticism surrounding the brand, explaining: ‘I don’t know why it is. I think we should be in the moment of celebrating anytime anybody wants to do anything. Can be her, can be Gwyneth Paltrow, can be me, can be Eva Longoria, can be Melania Trump. Let’s celebrate what anybody wants to do. Just forget about criticizing others. Everybody should be cheering up everybody that just tries to do something.’

Andrés, who founded The World Central Kitchen, explained that he and Markle – along with Prince Harry have collaborated on multiple philanthropic projects over the years. This includes the rebuilding of a kitchen in Dominica that serves children during the school year and operates as an emergency relief hub during hurricane season.

‘Quite frankly, very proud of them and very proud to call them friends,’ he said.

[From The Daily Mail]

“She doesn’t need to be out [in the public eye] but she is there.” This is true. Meghan could hide away and not put herself out there in any way, but she’s choosing to launch a business, knowing that people are going to nitpick every little thing. Anyway, William’s misjudgment on Andres is still hilarious to me. William really thought he “poached” Andres and that Andres would take his side and have nothing to do with the Sussexes anymore. Andres is like “sure, I’d love a board seat, but I’m still going to hang out with my dear friends and talk about how much I love them all the time!”

Duchess Meghan post a BTS recap of their time at the #TIME100 Summit. Read more here. ????#MeghanSussex

????https://t.co/oPVcYxx0yQ pic.twitter.com/xudShljcRD

— ChrisBaronSmith (@ChrisBaronSmit1) April 24, 2025

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images and Andres’ IG.