Celebrity chef Jose Andres cancels deal for restaurant in Donald Trump's new DC hotel

ENTERTAINMENT

Celebrity chef cancels deal for restaurant in Trump's new DC hotel

Brett Zongker The Associated Press
Published Thursday, July 9, 2015 6:40AM EDT

This March 15, 2011, file photo, shows chef Jose Andres at his Minibar restaurant in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Text:

WASHINGTON -- Celebrity chef Jose Andres is backing out of a plan to open a flagship restaurant in Donald Trump's new hotel under construction in Washington.

Andres issued a statement Wednesday citing Trump's statements "disparaging immigrants" in his decision to cancel plans for an eatery at the Trump International Hotel. Andres is a Spanish immigrant and recently became a U.S. citizen.

Real estate mogul and Republican presidential candidate Trump said in a campaign speech June 16 that some Mexican immigrants bring drugs and crime to the U.S., and some are rapists. He's been criticized but hasn't apologized. A host of organizations are severing or re-examining relationships with Trump.

Andres says Trump's statements "make it impossible for my company and I to move forward." Andres says more than half of his team and many of his guests are Hispanic.