Thousands of Hurricane Maria survivors will get their Thanksgiving meal for free this year, courtesy of a celebrity chef and frequent critic of Donald Trump who spent his holiday cooking up hot meals in Puerto Rico.

Chef Jose Andrés set a goal of feeding 40,000 residents of the island, which was decimated by the hurricane months ago, according to his Twitter account.

“Today we cooked and delivered 6,744 full turkey dinners from one #ChefsForPuertoRico kitchenas we gear up to prepare for and serve 40,000 who need and deserve a hot meal this Thanksgiving," he tweeted. "We could not & would not do this without all of you.”

The project required 12,000 turkey breasts and 100 whole turkeys, Mr Andrés added later.

The Michelin-starred chef and Spanish immigrant has already set up the island's biggest network of kitchens, supply chains, and delivery services via his non-profit disaster relief organization, World Central Kitchen. By the end of October, he had served more than 2.2m meals to hurricane survivors – more than the Red Cross, Salvation Army, or any government entity, according to the New York Times.

Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Show all 20 1 /20 Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Crew chief Kenney shelters under the blade of an HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit preparing to take off during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Isla Grande, Puerto Rico, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico An HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit takes off behind Crew Chief Alexander Blake and his fellow soldiers during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Morovis, October 5, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Crew member Bynum stands in tropical rain as a HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit prepares to take off during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Isla Grande, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter pilot Chris Greenway receives a hug from a woman thanking him for water as he works with the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Verde de Comerio, October 7, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico A man carries a case of water away from an HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter after soldiers working with 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit dropped off relief supplies during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Jayuya, October 5, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Crew chief Alexander Blake from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit loads water into a helicopter during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Isla Grande, October 5, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Residents wait for soldiers in UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade to deliver food and water during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in San Lorenzo Reuters Bringing aid to Puerto Rico An HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit lands in a field to avoid lightning during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Manati, October 5, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Residents hold their hands aloft to signal that they need water as UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade fly past during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, near Ciales, October 7, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Tropical rain splashes on a runway as HH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit wait for weather to clear during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Isla Grande, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Pilot Eldwin Bocanegra Torres speaks with residents isolated by landslides in the mountains after unloading water and food from a helicopter during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, near Utuado, October 10, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Residents stand in front of wind-damaged trees as they wait for soldiers in UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade to deliver food and water during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in San Lorenzo, October 7, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico The contents of a home are seen from the air during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria near Utuado, October 10, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Thomas looks out of the window of an HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit, loaded with relief supplies, during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria in Isla Grande, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico A message written on the rooftop is seen from the air during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria near Humacao, October 10, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico A HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit lands in a field during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria in San Sebastian, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Sergeant First Class Eladio Tirado, who is from Puerto Rico, looks for a landing spot for a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade, during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria near Ciales, October 7, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Boys carry water away from an HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter after soldiers working with the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit dropped off relief supplies during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Jayuya, October 5, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Sergeant First Class Eladio Tirado from the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade, who is from Puerto Rico, speaks with residents as he helps during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in San Lorenzo, October 7, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Residents peek through a fence at helicopters from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit that had parked in a locked field during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Lares, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson

“We only came here to try to help a few thousand because nobody had a plan to feed Puerto Rico, and we opened the biggest restaurant in the world in a week,” Mr Andrés told the Times. "That’s how crazy this is.”

Hurricane Maria knocked out power to almost all of the island in September, and the majority of residents are still without power. Mr Andrés recently said he would try to continue feeding Puerto Ricans in need through Christmas.

Donald Trump: Our response to Puerto Rico was ten out of ten

When he isn’t cooking, the 48-year-old chef – who owns more than a dozen restaurants in the US – spends much of his time taking on the US President.

Mr Andrés pulled out of a restaurant deal with the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC in 2015, after Mr Trump made disparaging remarks about Mexican immigrants. The Trump organisation sued Mr Andrés for breach of contract, but the chef counter-sued, saying Mr Trump’s comments had hurt his business. The Trump organisation settled with Mr Andrés in April for an undisclosed sum.

Mr Andrés has been unapologetic in his critiques of Mr Trump, at one point tweeting that hell was “too good” for the President. After Hurricane Maria struck, he directed his anger toward the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which he accused of being "the most inefficient place on earth."

“We are feeding the National Guard because they need hot meals and proud of it but Federal Goverment will not help us.........?” he tweeted in October.

Bill Clinton personally handing out supplies in Puerto Rico: "You had the bad luck to be hit after Houston and after Florida"

The emergency management agency shot back in a statement to Buzzfeed, saying they were “disappointed” in Mr Andrés’s approach.

“We had a good working relationship, and we paid him a lot of money to do that work,” Marty Bahamonde, director of the FEMA disaster operations division, said. “It wasn’t volunteer work — so we were disappointed in some of his public comments.”

Mr Andrés is not alone in his critiques, however. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz has also taken issue with the federal government's response to the hurricane, telling Mr Trump and other officials that the island needs more support. At a press conference earlier this month, Ms Cruz said the situation in Puerto Rico remains one of life or death.