Philadelphia photographer Cielito Mercado Vivas creates cookbook preserving immigrant household recipes

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Drawing inspiration from tales of immigrants, household and meals, Philadelphia photographer Cielito Mercado Vivas has turned her lens towards the kitchen to create a brand new cookbook that goals to protect cultural traditions.

“Everyone has something favorite of their mom or dad, I know I did too,” she mentioned.

Born to Filipino immigrant dad and mom and raised in Andorra, Vivas is knowledgeable photographer who shifted her focus from portraits to plates.

Her upcoming cookbook, “Family Preserves: Home Cooked Stories From Immigrant Kitchens,” options recipes and tales collected from 13 immigrant households throughout the nation.

“Murfreesboro, Tennessee, has one of the largest populations of people from Laos,” Vivas mentioned.

Among the dishes featured is a Hong Kong-inspired rooster wing recipe that mixes ketchup, honey and soy sauce for what Vivas describes as “this kind of crispy, sticky, sweet taste.”

“Finding flavor that’s similar to what they know and love, it makes them feel comfort and happiness,” she mentioned.

The cookbook consists of detailed measurements for recipes historically ready by really feel.

“The funny thing is, a lot of parents don’t measure, so this was a way for us to calculate in order to document it,” Vivas mentioned.

With a foreword by James Beard Award-winning chef Phila Lorn of Mawn and Sow, “Family Preserves” is scheduled for publication in October 2026.