Chef André Rush: Strength Through Service

Episode of Mick Unplugged · October 19, 2026 · 49 min

Mick Hunt talks with Army veteran and former White House chef André Rush about grief, PTSD, asking for help, his culinary path, and his memoir.

Summary

In this re-released episode of Mick Unplugged, host Mick Hunt interviewed Chef André Rush, a U.S. Army combat veteran, former White House chef, and mental health advocate. Hunt credited Rush's 22-pushups-a-day campaign on veteran suicide with sparking his own interest in mental health awareness. Rush explained how he escalated the pushups to 2,222 a day to prompt conversations, and described choosing military service over scholarships and Olympic trials because of a mindset of service instilled by his father, who taught him to be the hardest worker in the room.

Asked about his "because," Rush spoke of his faith and of losing his daughter, his parents, and his best friend, saying he has no choice but to serve children and veterans. Hunt shared that his high school best friend died by suicide days after he had checked on him through an uncle, and Rush recounted a similar loss of a soldier, framing such grief as a reason to check on others. Rush described being at the Pentagon on September 11, the stigma around PTSD at the time, being discouraged by his chain of command from seeking help, and eventually being sent to therapy, where a chance encounter with another soldier at West Point convinced him to commit to it.

Rush then traced his culinary career from secretly cooking with his mother to Army mass cooking, military culinary competitions where he entered some 20 events to learn from failure, and selection for the culinary program at the Pentagon despite his commander's objections. He described the White House kitchen as demanding total accountability and teamwork, and explained that his memoir Call Me Chef, Dammit! was titled after a mentor who initially refused to call him chef. He previewed a forthcoming storytelling cookbook focused on healthy cooking with children, a spice line, and work with Arnold Schwarzenegger's Pump Club, before answering rapid-fire questions on sushi, arm workouts, and singing "Welcome to the Jungle."

Chapters

0:37
Cold open and introduction
Hunt introduces Chef André Rush as a White House chef, Army combat veteran, mental health advocate, and personal mentor.
1:56
22 pushups and checking in
Hunt explains how Rush's pushup campaign on veteran suicide inspired him, and Rush describes escalating to 2,222 pushups a day.
4:04
Choosing service over sports
Rush recounts passing up scholarships and Olympic trials for the military and his refusal to become complacent.
5:57
Lessons from his father
Rush shares his father's lessons about hard work and expecting others to want you to fail.
7:57
The because: faith and loss
Rush describes losing his daughter, parents, and best friend and says he has no choice but to serve kids and veterans.
10:59
Friendship, suicide, and remembrance
Hunt and Rush each recount losing someone to suicide and turning grief into a cause.
14:42
September 11 and the stigma of PTSD
Rush describes the Pentagon on 9/11, being discouraged from seeking help, and finally being sent to therapy at West Point.
21:20
Keep going, never give up
Rush shares his mantra, his upbringing in the projects, and why he treats every person equally.
27:12
How cooking became his calling
Rush traces his path from cooking with his mother to Army culinary competitions and selection for the Pentagon culinary program.
34:52
Accountability in the White House kitchen
Rush describes the precision, teamwork, and accountability required in the White House kitchen.
38:11
Call Me Chef, Dammit! and the cookbook
Rush explains the origins and title of his memoir and previews his upcoming cookbook and spice line.
47:01
Rapid-fire questions and farewell
Rush answers four quick questions about food, workouts, and music before the two exchange thanks.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Mick Hunt
Hunt argues that people need not have experienced a struggle themselves to help, since simply checking in on friends matters.
“You don't have to be the person going through it to help. You can be the person that can check in on your friends”
Listen from 2:24 · Veteran suicide awareness
André Rush
Rush says his guiding principle, which he tells others, is never to become complacent.
“I will never become complacent. And that's what I tell people all the time. Never become complacent”
Listen from 4:28 · Personal accountability
André Rush
Rush recounts that his father taught him to be the hardest worker in the room and to expect that someone will want him to fail.
“He said, always be the hardest work in the room. And no matter where you go, someone wants you to fail”
Listen from 6:57
André Rush
Rush says he received the call about his daughter's death while at the height of his career, preparing to work with Gordon Ramsay in New York.
“I was going to New York City with Gordon Ramsay with my TV show, everything going when I got that phone call at four o'clock in the morning”
Listen from 8:18 · Grief
André Rush
Rush says his purpose after his losses is to serve children and veterans.
“Everything that I do is for this, is for our cause, for the kids, for the veterans”
Listen from 8:18 · Grief
Linked moment · 10:59Skip to 10:59 using a listen link in the info box.
Mick Hunt
Hunt recounts that his best friend died by suicide shortly after he had asked the friend's uncle, rather than the friend, how he was doing.
“Literally five days before that, I had reached out to his uncle to ask how he was doing. I could have called him directly”
Listen from 11:32 · Veteran suicide awareness
André Rush
Rush argues that PTSD was stigmatized in the military around 2001 despite claims to the contrary.
“back then, PTSD was kind of stigmatized. Even though they say it wasn't, it was”
Listen from 15:23 · Mental health stigma
André Rush
Rush argues that strong men's belief that nothing can affect them is false.
“And us being our mind is nothing can touch us. Nothing can touch us. And that's a lie”
Listen from 17:43 · Masculinity
André Rush
Rush says that when he asked his chain of command about talking to someone after 9/11, he was implicitly warned that it could cost him his job.
“I went back to my chain and I said, hey, I think I may want to talk to someone. And they said, do you like your job?”
Listen from 18:16 · Mental health stigma
André Rush
Rush describes a fellow soldier at West Point running back to embrace him outside the therapist's office, which changed his attitude toward therapy.
“all of a sudden he runs back down to me and he sees me and he looks at me and we just stopped”
Listen from 18:57 · Psychotherapy
André Rush
Rush recommends repeating the mantra "keep going, never give up, you can do anything" to oneself and to children.
“Keep going, never give up, you can do anything. I'll say it to myself, and I tell everybody to say it to your kids”
Listen from 22:00
André Rush
Rush says his pushups are a cause rather than a workout, and that exercise and diet should be tied to a reason.
“No, pushups are not my workout. They're my cause. There's a reason”
Listen from 24:13 · Veteran suicide awareness
André Rush
Rush says he entered about 20 events at military culinary competitions to gain experience, even from failure.
“So every time I went to compete, I would compete in like 20 events. When a normal person would compete in three or two or one, I would do 20 just so I could fail in all 20”
Listen from 28:55 · United States Army culinary competitions
André Rush
Rush says he won a position in the Pentagon culinary program after only four days of trial against competitors who had 30.
“I had four days and it was three other people competing for the same position, but they were there for 30 days”
Listen from 31:08 · United States Army culinary competitions
André Rush
Rush describes the White House kitchen as a place of total personal accountability.
“You don't have to have any alibi. You don't get to blame anybody but yourself. You're accountable for yourself”
Listen from 35:31 · White House kitchen
André Rush
Rush says the memoir was proposed by his publisher before his planned cookbook because he wanted to explain the reasons behind his work.
“The memoir was actually from the publisher. I wanted to do something before I did the cookbook. I didn't want to just have a cookbook”
Listen from 38:39 · Call Me Chef, Dammit!
André Rush
Rush characterizes his memoir as a storytelling guide to getting through life rather than a traditional memoir.
“It wasn't your traditional memoir. It was a storytelling book about how to get through life and how you deal with life”
Listen from 39:47 · Call Me Chef, Dammit!
André Rush
Rush says his upcoming cookbook will emphasize food as medicine and healthy cooking, prompted by young people asking about diabetes.
“I want to put a lot of feel good stuff as far as how you use food as it should be used in the beginning, as medication, as love, as holistic”
Listen from 45:48

People

In the conversation

Mick HuntHost of the Mick Unplugged podcast
André RushU.S. Army veteran, former White House chef, author, and mental health advocate

Discussed

Gordon RamsayBritish celebrity chef
Les BrownMotivational speaker quoted by Hunt
Arnold SchwarzeneggerAustrian-American bodybuilder, action star and former California governor, described as Stallone's longtime rival and later friend
Robert IrvineBritish-born celebrity chef, Restaurant Impossible host, military veteran and veterans' advocate

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From the publisher

This is a previously recorded conversation, returning as a Mick Unplugged re-release. References to upcoming projects reflect the time of recording. Chef André Rush's strength reaches far beyond the kitchen or the gym. In this conversation, the U.S. Army veteran, former White House chef, and mental health advocate shares the mission that keeps him serving others through grief, setbacks, and success. Mick and Chef Rush talk about checking in on the people you love, the stigma around asking for help, and why compassion belongs alongside discipline. Chef Rush reflects on September 11 at the Pentagon, a moment of connection at therapy, and the lessons his parents gave him about hard work and perseverance. The conversation also explores how cooking became his calling, the accountability required inside the White House, and the experiences behind his memoir, Call Me Chef, Dammit! It closes with four rapid-fire questions and an exchange about mentorship, gratitude, and making an impact. You'll Hear - Why a simple conversation can help people feel connected - Chef Rush's answer to “What is your because?” - How personal loss shaped his commitment to children and veterans - His experience of trauma and the difficulty of asking for support - Why encouragement, empathy, and perseverance matter - How military service led him toward a culinary career - Accountability, teamwork, and the White House kitchen - The story behind his memoir and four candid rapid-fire answers CHAPTERS 00:00 Check on each other: the cold open 00:20 Meet Chef André Rush 01:19 Why reaching out matters 03:24 Choosing service and refusing complacency 05:33 His father's lessons on hard work 07:19 The Because: a mission beyond yourself 10:22 Mick on friendship, loss, and connection 13:05 Turning remembrance into a cause 14:13 September 11, the Pentagon, and trauma 17:14 Asking for help and challenging stigma 20:12 A moment of connection at therapy 20:43 Keep going: encouragement and resilience 24:44 How cooki…

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 20, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Mental Health·Food·Self-Improvement