Firefighters Take the Heat…in the Kitchen

 by Anne Kadet

Nicholas Scopetta, the city’s fire commissioner, leaned over the white linen tablecloth to inspect a perfectly oval-shaped meat patty inlaid with an elegant swirl of spinach.
 
Peter Calvo of Ladder 5 dishes out frutti de mar over black linguini. Allan Tannenbaum

“I’ve had meatloaf from a firehouse and it never looked like this,” he said.

Rich Snyder, the dish’s creator and a firefighter with Ladder 20, shook his head in sad agreement. “And this would be considered a snack,” he said of the portion. “My recipe for the firehouse is six pounds of meat for eight people. Here they give me 30 pounds of meat for 100 people! That’s not enough!”


Snyder’s creation was one of 10 dishes offered at the Tribeca Organization’s second annual Tribeca Cook-Off on Sept. 23. The event, at Tribeca Rooftop, pitted neighborhood chefs against local firefighters using the firefighters’ recipes.

Once again, New York’s bravest showed that they can do more with a flame than aim a hose at it. Chefs from Danube, Scallini Fedeli, Layla, the Harrison and fresh., meanwhile, tackled the home spun recipes with good cheer. The organization, which helps local businesses, raised more than $30,000.

fresh. chef Daniel Angerer admitted that the firehouse seafood linguini recipe he’d prepared wasn’t really his specialty. “They are nice guys and hopefully, that will be reflected in the food,” he said. Michael Nasoff, who had donated the linguini from his Soho pasta shop, The Ravioli Store, was rooting for Engine 24’s version. “I bet it’s going to be bold,” he said, eyeing the dish. “And look at the presentation. It looks...edible. There’s something to be said for that!”

One of the night’s seven celebrity judges, Kitchen Confidential author and chef Anthony Bourdain, wrestled with the evening’s great dilemma as he surveyed the scene. “I have an ethical struggle going on here,” he said. “I feel like I have to side with the home team. On the other hand, how do you vote against a fireman?”

As the guests arrived, the men of Duane Street’s Engine 7/Ladder 1 made last-minute preparations in the kitchen, yanking baby lamb chops from the oven, their work space clattering with empty beer bottles. Last year, the judges had declared their salmon the night’s big winner, and they were confident of a repeat. “Check ’em out!” said Billy Benitez, dropping a basket of spinach into the fryer. “We’ll probably win again.”

And so the tasting began. As the band played and wine
Judges at the tasting table are, from right, Aaaron Brown, Anthony Bourdain, Marisol Castro, Ethan Zahn, Ron Kapon, and Tina Ujalki. Photo by Allan Tannenbaum
flowed, more than 350 hungry diners lined up for samples. For every dish, the firemen served bigger and, well, sloppier portions, and the crowd quickly adopted several firehouse dishes as their favorites. Many diners raved about Ladder 8’s seared tuna in a ginger cream sauce. “My favorite, hands down,” said Michael Fahey, of Duane Street’s Fahey Architects. “I loved the spices in it.” But the evening’s winner was the Harrison’s homely, dense and warmly spiced meatloaf.

Still, the firefighters had their own victory of sorts. Asked which group they’d rather see cook for their next party, nearly everyone voted to hire the firemen. And Worth Street resident Anna Li took it one step further: “I’d like to have them cater my bachelorette party!”