Written by DCist contributor Lauren Jacob

Premier D.C. chef José Andrés cuts an imposing figure, both in his culinary prowess and his Tony Soprano-like stature, but if you see him walking down the street, don't be afraid to give him a hearty hello and congratulate him on his new TV series "Made in Spain," which has begun airing on WETA at 12:30 p.m. on Saturdays.

We caught up with the gregarious Andrés recently at a press event held for his show, slated to be shown on PBS in various markets across the U.S. In the bright downtown dining room of his restaurant, Jaleo, filled with the melodic Spanish accents of Jose's friends and foreign dignitaries, Andrés told us he once had a primetime show in his home country for four years. In America, he was amused by shows like Yan Can Cook! and Giada De Laurentis's Everyday Italian and noted that there were shows "even about British cooking," but none featuring a Spanish chef and his cuisine.

Although Andrés notes that the series is not another cooking tutorial, the preview appeared to be a mix of two shows: one about cooking and another about the sources of his ingredients, focusing on different regions of Spain and putting a "face behind every single product." Andrés lends a personal touch to the program by recording the how-to portion of his show in the beautiful kitchen of his Bethesda-area home. He seemed especially enthusiastic about using the show to engage more young people in cooking and cuisine, as evidenced by the hip Spanish music and plane-hopping nature of the show. Andrés hopes his show in the U.S. will engage young people the way he says his primetime show in Spain did.

In addition to the show, Andrés mentioned that a hotel in Los Angeles and a restaurant in a casino in Vegas are in his future. Are Andrés' splash into culinary television and cross-country projects harbingers that D.C. will be losing the 17-year area native? Let's hope not. While, by his own account, "the great tapas movement happened in D.C.," we can only hope that chef Andrés will stick around to continue taking Spanish cuisine in new directions.

Correction: The original version of this post used a slightly different, working title for José Andrés' show, which is in fact called Made in Spain. It's now been corrected.