Chef Who Lost Dream Home In California Wildfires Keeps Spirits Up By Feeding Others

Daniel Shemtob is soothing his soul by dishing out foil-wrapped breakfast burritos and tacos to first responders and fellow evacuees.

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. (AP) — The Pacific Palisades home where chef Daniel Shemtob and his wife dreamed of raising a family is now nothing more than a cratered pit of twisted metal and rubble.

Gone are the gourmet kitchen, the nursery with the baby giraffe and elephant wallpaper, the half-century-old olive trees in the yard.

But even as the Los Angeles-area wildfires continue to burn, Shemtob has been soothing his soul by dishing out free, foil-wrapped breakfast burritos and tacos from his award-winning food truck to first-responders and weary evacuees.

It would be easy for the two-time Food Network competition winner to dwell on the loss of the home, which he and his wife, Elyse, moved into about eight months ago, leasing with an option to buy.

Yet he smiles, thinking about the people he has met through the food giveaways.