{"id":2387,"date":"2025-07-11T20:13:04","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T20:13:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/2387\/"},"modified":"2025-07-11T20:13:04","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T20:13:04","slug":"las-now-serving-cookbook-bookstore-has-a-recipe-for-renewal-after-the-fires-san-gabriel-valley-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/2387\/","title":{"rendered":"LA\u2019s Now Serving cookbook bookstore has a recipe for renewal after the fires \u2013 San Gabriel Valley Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

During the pandemic, after cooking everything I knew how to make at least three times, I realized that somewhere on my journey to cooking excellence, I\u2019d missed the offramp to Flavortown. My food, I thought, tasted a little blah.<\/p>\n

So I hit the books.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve owned some excellent cookbooks: Marcella Hazan\u2019s books on Italian cooking, which have been called \u201cexacting,\u201d \u201cdogmatic\u201d and \u201cperfectionist\u201d by people skilled at using a thesaurus to say she knew what she wanted, can teach you how to make that simple, amazing tomato sauce<\/a> and so much more. (And you\u2019re in luck because a\u00a0documentary about Hazan premieres today on PBS\u2019s \u201cAmerican Masters\u201d<\/a>\u00a0so you can learn more about this scientist-turned-Italian food icon).<\/p>\n

\"InIn this May 29, 2012 file photo, chef Marcella Hazan poses in the kitchen of her Longboat Key, Fla., home. Hazan, the Italian-born cookbook author who taught generations of Americans how to create simple, fresh Italian food, died Sept. 30, 2013 at her home in Florida. She was 89. (AP Photo\/Chris O\u2019Meara, File + cover courtesy of publisher)<\/p>\n

Through books, I\u2019ve learned from Madhur Jaffrey, Alice Waters, Samin Nosrat<\/a>, Anthony Bourdain, and Mark Bittman, not to mention pored over collections like \u201cThe Silver Palate Cookbook,\u201d \u201cThe New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone,\u201d and even the sturdy, informative \u201cA Good Day for Soup.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plus, bringing home a beautiful cookbook from somewhere you\u2019ve visited \u2013 as I did from London\u2019s 26 Grains<\/a> a few years back \u2013 can provide a souvenir that keeps on creating good memories.<\/p>\n

(And yes, I have also spent time watching \u201cThe Great British Baking Show\u201d and \u201cThe Bear\u201d while\u00a0mmm-scrolling YouTube and Instagram for recipes and cooking tips from Lan Lam, Carolina Gelen, NoMeatDisco\u2019s Sam Jones and even a guy called Sauce Stash who has a lot to say about chickpeas<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

ALSO SEE:\u00a0Like books? Get our free Book Pages newsletter about bestsellers, authors and more<\/a><\/p>\n

But cookbooks can be meaningful in ways that go beyond mere instruction and more as heirlooms and artifacts. My father kept his\u00a0prized meat loaf recipe inside a disintegrating copy of \u201cThe Joy of Cooking,\u201d a stained, scribbled upon\u00a0and notecard-stuffed wreck held together with a thick rubber band \u2014 and I bet someone in your family had something similar, too.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, author and actor Sonya Walger told me about losing her personal library of books, 25 years of journals and a wall full of her beautiful, often-used cookbooks<\/a>\u00a0in the Palisades Fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith every book comes a story, you know? Part of what you lose in a fire is your story. You lose all the stories \u2013 where I bought that cookbook in Greece and that plate came from Morocco,\u201d she says. \u201cAll of that goes in the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a moving act of support, Walger\u2019s friends came together to raise funds to help her rebuild her lost library.<\/p>\n

And as it turns out, a bookstore in L.A.\u2019s downtown had an even more ambitious idea \u2026<\/p>\n

\"KenKen Concepcion and his wife Michelle Mungca at their cookbook store, Now Serving, in the Chinatown section of Los Angeles on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News\/SCNG)<\/p>\n

After the Eaton and Palisades fires earlier this year, the loss of family cookbooks and all the\u00a0the lore and history they hold was on the minds of Ken Concepcion and Michelle Mungcal<\/a>, the owners of Now Serving<\/a>, a cookbook bookstore located in Chinatown\u2019s Far East Plaza.<\/p>\n

The couple, whose Pasadena home just blocks from the burn zone\u00a0survived, launched an effort they\u2019re\u00a0calling\u00a0Friends Of The Shop: LA Wildfires Cookbook Initiative<\/a> to help impacted families\u00a0replace cookbooks lost in the fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re an impacted individual or family, you can fill out and submit an intake form that\u2019s on our website and request up to 10 books to rebuild your cookbook collection,\u201d says Concepcion, who was collecting donations yesterday morning when we spoke.<\/p>\n

The effort has kept them busy. \u201cWe have over 500 submissions for the intake forms,\u201d he says, which represents thousands of book requests.<\/p>\n

For those wanting to get involved, there are different ways to contribute: You can go to the bookstore\u2019s website and purchase a book to give to someone in need<\/a>, or scan the list of books people are seeking to replace and donate some of those<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you go on our site, we have a list of books that are available to gift. So it\u2019s almost like a registry,\u201d says Concepcion. \u201cAnyone can go on our site and gift a book to to an impacted individual.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheseThese are among the most popular cookbooks requested by people impacted by the fires. (Covers courtesy of the publishers)<\/p>\n

The list of requested titles is enormous and varied.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe document is over a thousand unique titles, which is kind of staggering, and the list itself is really\u00a0interesting to\u00a0dig into,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Some of the most sought-after titles include \u201cSalt Fat Acid Heat,\u201d \u201cThe Joy of Cooking,\u201d \u201cThe Silver Palate Cookbook\u201d and \u201canything by Ina Garten.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the list includes a cookbook meaningful to Concepcion.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore we opened the shop, I worked as a chef,\u201d says Concepcion, who didn\u2019t go to culinary school but eventually spent years working\u00a0for Wolfgang Puck. \u201cI just kind of learned on the job by working in restaurants and would go home and read books after service. And \u2018The Zuni Cafe Cookbook\u2019\u00a0really kind of opened my eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The book remains a personal favorite, he says.<\/p>\n

ALSO SEE: 10 new cookbooks to inspire delicious breakfast, lunch and dinner meals<\/a><\/p>\n

But note that the time for dropoffs is winding down:\u00a0Monday, July 14, is the last scheduled day (though if you miss that deadline, Concepcion says to call to see if something can be arranged). The\u00a0plan is to process the donated books over the next few months and begin distributing them by the end of summer or beginning of fall.<\/p>\n

Just that morning, Concepcion says he\u2019d received a large donation from a store regular who told him it was gratifying to know the books would soon be part of someone\u2019s new home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people who are coming in to donate feel like they are finally able to really help specific individuals,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe felt like this was the best way we could\u00a0help our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

And as we wrapped up, I asked Concepcion what the store itself might need.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really appreciate that question. What would help the store is basically for people to buy books and come into the shop and pick up a book or pre-order something that\u2019s coming out in the fall,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Things are tough. Small retail businesses and local restaurants are facing challenges that make the pandemic \u201clook like a cake walk,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are really struggling right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you need help or would like to provide help, check out the Now Serving website<\/a> for the most accurate and updated information.<\/p>\n

If your cookbook collection was lost in the LA wildfires, request up to 10 titles here: https:\/\/nowservingla.com\/pages\/la-wildfires\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

If you\u2019d to give a book to help rebuild a collection, go here: https:\/\/nowservingla.com\/collections\/friends-of-the-shop-rebuilding-cookbook-collections<\/a><\/p>\n

Explore the list of books that people are seeking for donation: https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1LgMfDGcx2j2DdkG3kgYpJDRN4iqeiXYpA-htIEc8cIs\/edit?gid=0#gid=0<\/a><\/p>\n

And if you\u2019re interested in buying something from Now Serving \u2013 books, gift cards, linens, totes, cards and more \u2013 go to the website or head out to the store this weekend as they\u00a0are having an in-store summer sale July 12-15<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\""Mark\u201cMark Twain\u201d by Ron Chernow is among the top-selling nonfiction releases at Southern California\u2019s independent bookstores. (Courtesy of Penguin Press)<\/p>\n

The week\u2019s bestsellers<\/p>\n

The top-selling books at your local independent bookstores.\u00a0READ MORE<\/a><\/p>\n

\"BookishBookish (SCNG)<\/p>\n

Sign up for the next Bookish<\/a> on July 18 at 4 p.m. with \u201cThe View from Lake Como\u201d author Adriana Trigiani and audiobook narrator Rebecca Lucas with her sister, our colleague, Emily St. Martin. Miss an episode? Catch up on\u00a0previous Bookish shows<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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