O.C. chefs, restaurants team up to serve wildfire relief
Beginning on Friday afternoon and late into the night, donations for Los Angeles wildfire victims poured in at Kaizen Fusion Shabu Shabu in Santa Ana. Cases of bottled water were stacked high and trash bags filled with gently used clothing were piled in the corner of the restaurant space next door.
“We haven’t started construction in the new space yet, it is just a full-on empty space, so I told my friend let’s put it use,” said owner Lamson Nguyen of the location she recently acquired.
More than 12,000 structures have been damaged or completely destroyed since Tuesday, when flames first blazed through the Pacific Palisades and Altadena leaving many residents displaced. In the days that followed, Orange County restaurants, chefs and other industry professionals have mobilized to provided support to L.A. neighbors affected by the fires.
Nguyen’s friend Maynard Manalac was organizing a donation drive, and Nguyen offered the space as a drop-off location. Nguyen put together a flier for Kaizen’s social media outlets with a call for water, toiletries, feminine care products, pet food, flashlights, batteries and more. On Friday and Saturday from noon until 11 p.m. people came through with donations, and the team ended up collecting enough cases of water to fill a trailer and enough food to fill four trucks.
“On Sunday we realized we had such an influx of donations, we made it a priority to deliver the perishables first,” said Nguyen.
Nguyen and Manalac partnered with friend Ricky Ortigoza, who provided trucks to transport the donations to Santa Anita Park’s massive donation site. On Monday, they rented a U-haul truck to transport the remaining clothing and other nonperishable items to Monrovia High School’s donation site.
“It has been amazing to see,” said Nguyen.
In Garden Grove, Bill Bracken of Bracken’s Kitchen also jumped in to action when news of the fires spread, utilizing his resources to partner with World Central Kitchen.
“We were watching the news, and we are not naturally a disaster response organization, World Central Kitchen are the godfathers of it,” said Bracken. “They do it so well.”
Bracken’s Kitchen is a local nonprofit combating food insecurity through food rescue, a culinary training program and its food truck feeding program. World Central Kitchen is an organization founded by Spanish American chef/restaurateur José Andrés to provide food relief in disaster areas. A sous chef with Bracken’s Kitchen was contacted by Word Central Kitchen about the need for volunteers, and Bracken offered his services.
“On Friday at about 9:30 at night WCK called and said they need help in Sylmar where a whole bunch of seniors that needed care had been evacuated to a facility,” Bracken said.
Bracken’s team put out a call for volunteers via social media, but by Saturday night, they had more volunteer applicants than they could ever use.
“I think we all know somebody, somewhere who is affected by this, so it has become very personal for everybody about how we can help,” said Bracken. “Our heart just goes out to all of these people.”
Over the weekend Bracken’s Kitchen assembled meals like roasted chicken in Carolina-style BBQ sauce over stir-fried rice before loading up to distribute the meals wherever World Central Kitchen sent them.
While Bracken’s Kitchen doesn’t have experience feeding people during disaster response, Bracken said they are well versed in sharing food with people in a vulnerable state. The response from the Orange County restaurant industry doesn’t surprise him.
“There really isn’t a more giving business than the hospitality business,” said Bracken.
The efforts of the O.C. restaurant community will continue this week with nearly 90 restaurants coming together to raise funds in support of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.
On Tuesday, Jan. 14, all participating restaurants will donate 20% of all sales to the food bank.
General manager Jill Cook Morris and chef-owner Marco Criscuolo of Aliso Viejo restaurant Trattoria Trullo spearheaded the campaign, starting with just a handful of restaurants on Friday afternoon.
“We are in the business of feeding people, and now is the time for our businesses to feed those who need it most,” said Criscuolo. “These donations will enable the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank to continue their support of 600 partner agencies and ensure that those most impacted by the fire have one less thing to worry about.”
Morris, who has experience in cause-based marketing, tapped two other local Orange County restaurant public relations professionals: Niyaz Pirani of Knife & Spork Public Relations and Jennifer Wales of Wales Communications, to form OC Restaurants Give, uniting their respective clients. The list of participating restaurants has grown to almost 90.
“As a native Californian, I know we all live with the recognition that we could be next,” said Morris. “Food is one of our most basic needs, and we want to ensure it’s the last thing that any of these people need to worry about as they move forward and rebuild.”
At press time, participating restaurants on the growing list of OC Restaurants Give, by city, include:
Anaheim: Lola’s by MFK, Sun Bliss Cafe, Honeypot Meadery, Story Kitchen & Bar;
Aliso Viejo: Stadium Brew Co., Trattoria Trullo;
Brea: Julep Cast Iron Kitchen, Toast Kitchen & Bar;
Costa Mesa: Coffee Dose and Micro Dose Drive Thru, Kitsch Bar, Milligram Coffee, Mixing Glass and Market, Newport Rib Co., Plums Cafe, Seabirds Kitchen;
Dana Point: Craft House, Glasspar, Jon’s Fish Market, Luciana’s Ristorante, Stillwater, Station Craft;
Fountain Valley: Artisan Cafe, Cambalache Grill;
Huntington Beach: George’s Mexican Food, the Longboard and the Longboard on Springdale;
Irvine: Benny + Mary’s, Bistango, Bosscat Kitchen, Coffee Dose, Freddy’s Deli, TEN Sushi, Sauced BBQ, Wall Writers, Zov’s;
Laguna Hills: Coffee Dose Clubhouse, Rangeen Kitchen, Scratch Bakery Cafe, Villa Roma;
Lake Forest: Avila’s El Ranchito;
Mission Viejo: Ballpark Pizza;
Newport Beach: Bayside, Cappy’s Cafe, Champagnes Kitchen, Farmhouse at Roger’s Gardens, Lighthouse Cafe, Lido Bottle Works, Royal Hen, Scratch Bakery Cafe, Food, Zov’s;
Orange: Bosscat Kitchen, Sauced BBQ, Orange Hill;
San Clemente: the Cellar;
San Juan Capistrano: Trevor’s at the Tracks, Hidden House Coffee;
Santa Ana: Darkroom, Hidden House Coffee;
Stanton: Coffee Dose Rodeo 39;
Tustin: Burns Road, Zov’s.
In Orange, Haven Craft kitchen+bar, Provisions and Chapman Crafted Beer will host an all-day fundraiser on Jan. 16, with 100% of profits going toward the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation. Gibroni’s in San Clemente will participate on Jan. 15 since it is closed on Tuesdays.
Other Orange County pizzerias are helping out too.
Sgt. Pepperoni’s Newport Beach, Irvine and Aliso Viejo locations will donate 100% of pizza sales proceeds to L.A. Fire efforts from Jan. 12 to Jan. 18. Truly Pizza in Dana Point has teamed up with Slice Out Hunger, a pizza community fighting hunger insecurity, to deliver food to relief shelters housing those displaced by the fires. Additionally, Truly will donate a percentage of proceeds to Slice Out Hunger’s foundation for the remainder of the month.
Bracken said it’s important to remember that the worst isn’t over. As high wind warnings persist throughout a very dry Southern California, Bracken’s team spent Monday morning preparing to head out to feed people in Pasadena.
“This is still a very active disaster. It is not like a hurricane came through and moved on and now we clean up, ” said Bracken. “The fires are still burning.”
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