President Obama Honors José Andrés With National Humanities Award

Chef José Andrés — restaurateur, anti-hunger activist, and D.C.-based chef — will be one of the recipients of the 2015 prestigious National Humanities Award. President Obama will give the award to artists and creative thinkers selected by the National Endowment for the Humanities committee.

Andrés was selected among other well-recognized names in the arts like Morgan Freeman, Mel Brooks, and composer Wynton Marsalis. Andrés was born in Spain but became a U.S. citizen in 2013 after a decade of working and cooking in this country.

The National Humanities Award was first conceived in 1996 and has since been bestowed upon 175 Americans who "better our understanding of ourselves, our history and our culture."

Andrés' name has been mentioned recently as the feud between him and Donald Trump continues. Andrés and Geoffrey Zakarian both pulled out of their restaurant contracts at the new Trump Hotel in D.C. after Trump's controversial comments about immigrants. The Trump family subsequently sued them both for breach of contract.

The ceremony for the National Humanities Award will take place Sept. 22 at the White House.