José Andrés Says He Tried to 'Emulate' Anthony Bourdain on New Travel Show: 'He Was a Poet'

Courtesy of discovery+

Long before shooting their own travel show, José Andrés and his daughters learned from the best.

José Andrés and Family in Spain, streaming Tuesday on discovery+, follows the humanitarian as he travels with his daughters, Carlota, 23, Inés, 21, and Lucía, 18, in the celebrity chef's home country.

The love of food clearly runs in the family as fans watch all three girls' faces light up in the same way as their father's during the docu-series. Whether they try a spoonful of traditional paella or take a bite of something less-conventional, like cotton candy flowers or a caviar-filled brioche, the family members are all engaged and excited.

For the hour-long episodes, José says that he took inspiration from the late Anthony Bourdain when it came to translating the moments they were experiencing in real life onto the small screen.

"I had a good mentor. He was a poet. He was a guy that understood the moment and was able to transform the moment into a phrase that we'll forever remember," the World Central Kitchen organization founder tells PEOPLE. "I feel I was very blessed to know him."

The Maryland-based chef was close friends with the host of CNN's Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, who died by suicide on June 8, 2018. The pair even explored Asturias, Spain in an episode of Bourdain's CNN show that aired three months after his death in September of 2018.

"I'm still a learner on that front, but sometimes I try to emulate him," José says of travel show hosting, "and I know my daughters sometimes try, too."

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His daughters have certainly picked up on José's wise catchphrases and "classic go-to José quotes."

"They tend to be very food-based," says his oldest daughter, Carlota, of her father's phrases. "'If you get the recipe wrong, just change the name of the recipe.' Another one is, 'If more people come to the table, just add more rice.'"

"I really like one that my dad kind of drilled into our brains: 'You're only as good as the people you surround yourself with,' " Inés adds. "And so if you want to get stuff done in this world, you have to kind of surround yourself with like-minded people that have a great heart, determined, boots on the ground."

Courtesy of discovery+

On José Andrés and Family in Spain, they explore cities like Barcelona and Madrid, along with important places in Andrés' career like El Bulli — the iconic former restaurant in Roses. The trailer, which PEOPLE exclusively revealed earlier this month, shows how they meet with local experts and the chef's daughters learn about their father's personal history, along with that of Spain overall.

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The six-episode docu-series is divided up by location (Barcelona and Catalonia, Córdoba and Andalusia, Valencia, Madrid, Asturias and Lanzarote) and each segment is packed with drool-worthy Spanish cuisine and adventurous activities. According to the family, the fun (and filling!) shoot days were "nonstop" with days starting as early as 5 a.m.

José's oldest daughter was able to take time off of work to shoot the show, but the two younger daughters both balanced school and shooting.

In their free time, the four would spend their time off doing activities similar to what was being shot: exploring, eating and reconnecting with José's friends. This made the show so easy for the family to shoot.

"I think what made it so natural is that we would be doing these same things off-camera as well," says Carlota. "I think it's like one, we were with family the whole time, and two, we were doing the same things that we would do without cameras."

But José Andrés and Family in Spain would not be possible without the crew, says José. "The camera people and the crew, they're family now. These guys are the ones making it happen, so in the end, you see that it takes a family to make things happen, right?"

José Andrés and Family in Spain premieres Dec. 27 on discovery+