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As the fires continue to rage across parts of L.A., New Yorkers have continued to step up and find ways to help. This Sunday, January 19, New York City chef and writer Magdalena O'Neal is hosting a four-course dinner open to the public through Resy bookings with all proceeds going to the victims of the L.A. wildfires.
O'Neal, who has roots in California, will be serving dishes inspired by her home state at wine bar Casetta in the Lower East Side.
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O'Neal is from Oakland but her mom was born and raised in L.A. and for the past few years, O’Neal's traveled the world, hosting pop-ups that showcase her cooking, which is heavily influenced by her family's Southern roots and her California upbringing. "When the fires were first happening, there was this sense of helplessness for me being based in New York," O'Neal tells Time Out New York. "I want other New Yorkers to feel like they can do something while also reminding them why California is so important as a culinary force in the world." She decided that the best way to help was by leaning into what she knows how to do best, which is cook.
One of the dishes you can expect on Sunday is cioppino, a tomato and seafood stew that originated in San Francisco and was a staple for working class fishermen. She's also incorporating collard greens in a salad, fusing her Black heritage with Californian freshness.
One hundred percent of the proceeds from the dinner will go directly to GoFundMe pages from this spreadsheet, which includes families who lost homes in the Altadena wildfires. O'Neal notes the particular importance of Altadena to her own heritage: 8 out of 10 Black residents in that area own their homes, which is double the national average. For many Black and brown families, the fires presented a generational and cultural loss that goes beyond the immediate destruction.
"What I'm seeing a lot of people asking for beyond physical items as donations are money, because these people are rebuilding their entire lives, not just their wardrobes" says O'Neal. "We're talking about a state that has been dealing with homelessness and hunger for years and people have been comfortably turning a blind eye. I would love to see this level of community organizing sustained when as we band together to rebuild these communities literally from the ground up."
Tickets to this Sunday's dinner are $75, plus tax, and you can get your tickets on Resy.
If you can't make it to O'Neal's dinner, there is a dinner from Eti.NYC later this month in the Lower East Side that will donate proceeds to the L.A. wildfires.
Looking for more ways to support the damages of the L.A. wildfires that highlight NYC's culinary scene? Luke Haverty and Gina Bruno are hosting a 5k that ends with a bake sale featuring over 25 chefs in NYC this Saturday, January 18. Find more information here. Similarly, multiple chefs have come together for an event on Monday, January 20 that features multiple dishes and non-alcoholic cocktails at Rosso. All proceeds will go to support those impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires. Find more information here.