This CEO’s Storytelling Strategy Helps Turn Messy Situations Into Big Brand Wins

This interview was originally recorded on October 14th, 2025, when Sam Bakhshandehpour was Global CEO of the José Andrés Group. He recently took a position at Bilt as President of Local Merchants.

Restaurants are built on food and operations, but they are remembered because of the stories that come out of them. 

During his tenure as Global CEO of José Andrés Group, Sam Bakhshandehpour saw how one unexpected moment can travel far beyond the dining room when it captures something real.

That became clear during a Miami Food and Wine event. A massive paella pan sat over live fire when rain poured down from the sky. Everyone scattered for cover except José Andrés. 

“He goes, go get the umbrellas,” Bakhshandehpour remembers in a conversation from October 2025 when he was the CEO. Andrés stayed at the pan, cooking through the downpour while the crowd slowly circled back. Champagne came out, people laughed in the rain and a messy situation turned into a shared memory.

That scene showed the group what the company does best. “We are storytellers,” Bakhshandehpour says. “We tell our stories in the dining room, with the magic from the kitchen, through our design and our marketing strategy.” 

Related: 10 Storytelling Strategies That Make Startups Impossible to Ignore

So when the group expanded into media, it was not a reinvention. It was a continuation. José had long been a natural on screen, and the leadership team understood that the stories already unfolding in their restaurants could be told in other formats. “Media is just an extension of that storytelling,” Bakhshandehpour says.

The paella moment became a perfect example. First, it was an experience. Then it became an episode in José and Family in Spain. Later, it inspired a paella kit for home cooks. 

Same idea. Different formats. The story connected each one. 

For the group, authenticity is what makes the flywheel work. “People see right through something that is authentic and something that is not,” Bakhshandehpour says. “Once you capture their hearts and minds with your content, it does not matter if it is in the restaurant or on the screen. It has to feel real.”

That belief guides the company’s growing media division: scripted series, travel shows, podcasts and books. All of it is built around human moments that mirror the energy of a busy dining room. 

“We are about experiences,” Bakhshandehpour says. “The dining room is where people put their phones down and are truly present. That is the beauty of storytelling.” 

Whether it is a paella pan in a rainstorm or a television episode that explores the roots of Spanish cuisine, the group sees it all as part of the same mission: create moments that matter, and share them wherever guests gather.

Related: Two Industry Leaders Share Their Best Advice for Restaurant Owners

Sustainability made practical

Purpose has always been built into the way the José Andrés Group operates. Long before any official partnership, the team was already thinking about food waste, sustainability and what it means to run a purpose-driven company. 

Bakhshandehpour talks about it the same way he talks about storytelling. It is not a marketing angle. It is a responsibility.

“Our chefs have always tried to optimize the usage of ingredients,” he says. “You want to maximize how much you use versus what gets wasted.” 

He points to a single tomato as the example that stuck with him. Chef Nico Lopez once held one up at Mercado Little Spain and showed how it became three different dishes.

• Hearts as garnish
• Pulp for pan con tomate
• The rest turned into gazpacho

One tomato and zero waste. The philosophy was already strong inside the kitchens. What the group needed was a partner who could help scale that thinking outside the restaurant. That partner became Copia. 

Bakhshandehpour was introduced to Copia founder Kimberly Smith and their team and immediately saw the alignment. Copia understood logistics, donation rules and the complexities of different markets. They built technology that reduces stress rather than adding more work to an already overloaded restaurant staff.

“As a restaurant operator, the last thing you need is another thing for your team to do,” Bakhshandehpour says. “Copia figured out the hard part.”

That impact is not theoretical. As the host of Restaurant Influencers, I traveled to Mercado Little Spain in New York City to document the process firsthand. I stood in the 35,000-square-foot commissary kitchen as Chef Ernesto Rodriguez demonstrated what they call the “three-minute habit,” weighing surplus food, logging it in the Copia app and triggering a pickup in seconds.

That same operational discipline inside Mercado Little Spain is now expanding beyond it, with the partnership rolling out nationally. The early results have been significant. Food is diverted from landfills, and CO2 is reduced and water is saved. Thousands of meals delivered to communities that need them. And the incentives line up. Less waste means lower food costs. Donations come with tax credits. Impact and economics can coexist.

Related: They Used an Impulsive But Smart Strategy to Turn Their Small Business Into a Cult Brand

“It makes sense for the environment and it makes sense for the bottom line,” Bakhshandehpour says. “Doing good and doing well at the same time.” 

For José Andrés Group, Copia is not a side project. It is a continuation of their mission to serve others with intention. Whether feeding the few or feeding the many, the company sees it as the same work: Use every resource thoughtfully. Lift others. Lead with purpose.

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