Top Chef Stops By Waffle House to Pick Up Food for Hurricane First Responders: I Always Give Them 'Big Kudos' in Emergencies

Top Chef José Andés praised Waffle House workers in a post to social media after he stopped by to pick up food for hurricane first responders.

In a post to X, the World Central Kitchen founder shared that he was on his way to join teams in Asheville, North Carolina, to help with relief efforts for Hurricane Helene. On his way there, he decided to stop by a Waffle House in Abingdon, Virginia.

"I stopped to buy some mom-and-dad cooking [to] take it with me," Andés said in the video. "I'm sure it's going to be firefighters or police officers who will appreciate the hot sandwich."

In the background of the video, Waffle House employees can be seen cooking and preparing meals. Andés continued, "Waffle House in many, many emergencies is sometimes the only open place so I always give big kudos to Waffle House anywhere."

The video, which was posted Sunday, has amassed more than 1.6 million views and more than 46,000 likes. Hundreds of users commented on the post to share how glad they were that Waffle House employees were being recognized.

"Good bless those Waffle House employees. I'm sure they and their families were also impacted yet they showed up for work. That's dedication; that's community," one user tweeted.

Another user commented, "Beautiful to see so many coming together to help and support others in a time of such dire need. Thank you for all you are doing."

Waffle House even responded to the video too, commenting a simple heart hands emoji.

Hurricane Helene is being regarded as one of the worst storms in U.S. history after more than 130 have been reported dead as of Monday, as reported by the Associated Press. White House homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall told reporters that up to 600 people have also been reported missing.