While firefighters wear many hats on their job, dealing with emergencies, they also have to cook.NH Chronicle is visiting local fire departments to see what specialties fire crews like to eat.At the Bedford Fire Department, the crews work 24-hour shifts. Each day, breakfast and dinner are made by a firefighter. They are assigned based on a regular rotation.Firefighter Michael Sitar is known for making his famous chicken parmesan. “I tend to favor Italian food, even though I’m not Italian whatsoever,” Sitar said.He has loved cooking since he was a kid. “I enjoyed it a lot growing up. My mother was a good cook. I would pick up tips and follow her in the kitchen,” he said.To make his popular dinner dish, he starts with a homemade red sauce with onions, crushed tomato, garlic and some red wine.To cook for the 12-person crew on duty, it requires eight 28-ounce cans of sauce.The crew at the department will request his chicken Parmesan. One trick to making it delicious, he said, is cutting the chicken slices very thin. “Thin, thin thin! That’s the way to do it,” he said.He then breads and fries the chicken. Sitar then pours on the homemade sauce, layers on fresh mozzarella cheese and bakes it.When it comes to good and bad food cooked by the firefighters, they usually get immediate feedback.”There’s probably no more brutally honest people than the firefighters you work with,” Sitar said. “I take pride in cooking a good meal and giving us fuel for what we got to do.”The fire crews purchase their own groceries using pooled money. The person cooking occasionally has to drop what they’re doing if they are needed at an emergency call.There is one big perk to being the chef.”One of the rules after it’s all done,” Sitar said.”I’m not allowed to do any dishes. Everyone else pitches in, that sort of thing.”
BEDFORD, N.H. —
While firefighters wear many hats on their job, dealing with emergencies, they also have to cook.
NH Chronicle is visiting local fire departments to see what specialties fire crews like to eat.
At the Bedford Fire Department, the crews work 24-hour shifts. Each day, breakfast and dinner are made by a firefighter. They are assigned based on a regular rotation.
Firefighter Michael Sitar is known for making his famous chicken parmesan.
“I tend to favor Italian food, even though I’m not Italian whatsoever,” Sitar said.
He has loved cooking since he was a kid.
“I enjoyed it a lot growing up. My mother was a good cook. I would pick up tips and follow her in the kitchen,” he said.
To make his popular dinner dish, he starts with a homemade red sauce with onions, crushed tomato, garlic and some red wine.
To cook for the 12-person crew on duty, it requires eight 28-ounce cans of sauce.
The crew at the department will request his chicken Parmesan. One trick to making it delicious, he said, is cutting the chicken slices very thin.
“Thin, thin thin! That’s the way to do it,” he said.
He then breads and fries the chicken. Sitar then pours on the homemade sauce, layers on fresh mozzarella cheese and bakes it.
When it comes to good and bad food cooked by the firefighters, they usually get immediate feedback.
“There’s probably no more brutally honest people than the firefighters you work with,” Sitar said. “I take pride in cooking a good meal and giving us fuel for what we got to do.”
The fire crews purchase their own groceries using pooled money. The person cooking occasionally has to drop what they’re doing if they are needed at an emergency call.
There is one big perk to being the chef.
“One of the rules after it’s all done,” Sitar said.”I’m not allowed to do any dishes. Everyone else pitches in, that sort of thing.”
Dining and Cooking