Cooking is an undisputed way to connect to loved ones, but for Filippo Cortivo and the rest of his family, self-publishing a new cookbook meant preserving the memory and traditions of their mother: one of Melrose Avenue’s more recognizable Italian chefs for nearly a decade.

Loredana “Mamma” Cecchinato, the matriarch and namesake of Larchmont’s Osteria Mamma, helped build the black-and-red corner restaurant into a neighborhood staple until her 2017 death after a battle with cancer. Serving dishes primarily from northern Italy and Umbria, the home cook turned professional possessed a natural talent that saw an endless procession of neighbors and family friends through their home in Italy, and a stable of regulars and celebrities in Los Angeles.