No, I hadn’t heard of World Central Kitchen* either until a few days ago. But thanks to the efforts of fourteen of Mallorca’s top chefs (six from Michelin-star restaurants), more people will become aware of this non-profit organisation, which has been feeding people in crisis situations around the world since 2010.

Remember Band Aid in the ’80s? Now, we have ‘Chef-Aid Mallorca’ with a specially composed song entitled ‘Don’t Ask Me Why’ – a fundraiser for World Central Kitchen.

The song was written by Marc Fosh, the only British chef in Spain at the helm of a Michelin-star restaurant (the eponymous Marc Fosh in Palma).

You can listen to ‘Don’t Ask Me Why’ on Spotify or check out this video to see the chefs performing the song. And if you can afford to, make a donation here to help World Central Kitchen continue its vital work.

Project Participants

The following chefs took part: Marc Fosh, Adrià Quetglas, Santi Taura, Andreu Genestra, Maca de Castro, Fernando Arellano, Tomeu Caldentey, Pau Navarro, Miquel Talent, Ariadna Salvador, Víctor García, Joan Marc Garcias, Jonay Hernández, and Lluís Pérez.

Musical arrangement was by composer Sergio Llopis and well-known Mallorcan singer/songwriter/musician, Jaime Anglada. The video was by multi-award-winning photographer and videographer, Nando Esteva, and Juan Monserrat from Foto Ruano in Palma. The final mastering of the song was done at the world-famous Abbey Road Studios in London.

I spoke to Marc at the media launch of ‘Don’t Ask Me Why’ by Chefs-Aid Mallorca and asked him how the idea for the fundraiser came about. Here’s what he said:

*What is World Central Kitchen?

World Central Kitchen was founded by famous Spanish chef, José Andrés, in response to the huge earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010. Since then, WCK has provided food relief in places including Puerto Rico, Australia, Nicaragua, Cuba, Cambodia, Uganda, Beirut, Texas, Louisiana, and Ukraine.

Just one day after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, WCK began providing food to Ukrainians affected by the war. The organisation has partnered with many restaurants in Ukraine to serve meals and set up sites across the border in other countries to feed refugees who have fled for their lives.

©Jan Edwards 2022