Malibu’s recovery efforts in the days and months after the Woolsey Fire have prompted local chef Cathy Rogers to help in her own way by compiling a cookbook for and by the community.
The idea may sound familiar to longtime local residents; Rogers published “Malibu’s Cooking Again” in the aftermath of the Old Topanga Fire of 1993.
“Food is nourishing and I think it nourishes your soul,” she said in a phone call with The Malibu Times, adding, “[It] takes you to a place of gratitude.”
The first edition of the book served as a way to collect recipes for those who lost their family recipes and cookbooks. Contributors included many Malibuites, from residents to popular restaurants such as now-shuttered Granita Malibu and Beau Rivage.
Rogers predicts expenses will be a lot less for the newest edition of the cookbook, and hopes to establish some sort of fund for those affected by the November fire.
“We’re one soul, one community,” she explained. “What hurts one hurts all of us.”
Anyone interested in sharing their survivor story, anecdotes and, of course, recipes, can do so by emailing Rogers at cathycooks@earthlink.net.