One of the tastiest meals I’ve enjoyed in a long time wasn’t prepared in a state-of-the-art restaurant kitchen by a culinary academy-educated chef.
It was made by some of Santa Maria’s bravest: three hard-working firefighters, in between multiple emergency calls, using unconventional tools in their firehouse kitchen, with no recipe cards or cookbooks in sight.
I had always heard that every firehouse has a great cook, a firefighter who can not only take the heat at the scene of a fire, but also in the kitchen.
Turns out, I didn’t have to look far. The newly promoted captain at Fire Station No. 1, in the busy center of Santa Maria’s downtown, is also a darn good cook.
Capt. Elijah Coleman, a 15-year firefighting veteran, allowed me to visit the firehouse recently and watch him make dinner, which has its own special challenges due to the nature of his line of work.
I showed up one late July afternoon to observe Coleman and the two other men on duty at the station that shift: engineer Brett Smith and firefighter Patrick Youngern.
The trio got right to work in the large firehouse kitchen, seeming just as comfortable chopping garlic or toasting pine nuts as they were on the scene of a medical assistance call, which they received less than 20 minutes after starting dinnertime food prep.
The three invited me to ride along. So we all climbed aboard the yellow-green fire engine. Dinner would have to wait. Someone needed help now.
Off we went—sirens wailing, lights flashing, crossing Broadway to respond to an emergency just a few blocks away.
As soon as their job was complete and they returned to the engine, another call came in, and there we were, rushing through town again.
Youngern turned to me with a smile and yelled over the sound of the siren that this might be one of those nights they scrap dinner plans and grab a burrito for supper instead.
But as it turned out, we pulled back into the firehouse garage about 30 minutes later and the firefighters resumed dinner preparations.
That’s life in the firehouse: unpredictable!
“You can’t make food that is labor intensive, like a reduction sauce, you can’t do,” Coleman said. “It’s rolling the dice.”
“We do our best to put something together. It’s almost inevitable that we’re going to get a call,” Youngern said. “Putting together a big meal like this, it’s almost inevitable that your food is going to get cold. And as soon as you set your plate down to eat something, that’s when a call is going to happen.”
Their meal featured pesto chicken—something these firefighters call “mallet chicken.”
Coleman pounds plastic wrap-covered chicken breasts to about a half inch thick, using a tool from the fire truck.
“We don’t have a meat tenderizer, so we use the rubber mallet off the engine,” Coleman explained with a chuckle.
Then, he spreads homemade pesto on one side of the chicken; it’s made from chopped basil, pine nuts they toast themselves, garlic, and Parmesan cheese. He then rolls up the chicken, dips it in egg and then into breadcrumbs with Parmesan, and bakes the chicken for 45 minutes at 375 degrees.
Just when the chicken and a tray of new potatoes were put in the oven, there it was again—the unmistakable piercing ringtones blaring through the firehouse, alerting us of yet another emergency somewhere in Santa Maria. Dinnertime was interrupted once more as the firefighters jumped into action.
Crisis averted; situation resolved. About a half hour later, the crew returned to the firehouse just in time to take their dinner out of the oven.
They topped the chicken with Alfredo sauce and sliced tomatoes. The roasted potatoes were tossed with homemade tapenade made from olive oil, chopped Kalamata olives, garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper. The meal also included green beans with bell peppers and onions.
These firefighters like to strike a balance between healthful and hearty, so they remain fit and still maintain their energy for their strenuous job.
“If I don’t eat in the morning, I get cranky. And if we have a fire right away, I’ll be really tired,” said Smith, who likes to make a spinach, asparagus, and cheese omelet when he arrives at the firehouse to start his 24-hour shift—an exhausting one that averages 12 to 15 calls and barely a wink of sleep.
The firefighters often bring ingredients from home; when time allows, they stop at a grocery store.
“People think the city pays for our food, and they don’t,” Coleman added. “We bring all of our own food.”
Firehouse favorites include chicken dishes, barbecue, and tacos.
“We eat lots of fish tacos. That’s really easy and quick,” said Coleman, who usually decides what’s for dinner.
“Elijah’s good,” Youngern said.
“He’s a good cook,” Smith agreed, “but he’s picky. That’s why he likes to cook.”
No argument from Coleman, who admits there are certain foods he doesn’t like, so if he cooks, he controls the menu.
Considering all the interruptions, it’s remarkable that the meal turned out perfectly and that the guys at Fire Station No. 1 had just enough time to chow down before being called on again to preserve and protect.
It’s a profession that deserves our thanks for keeping the community safe, and most certainly deserves to sit down and enjoy a home cooked meal now and then.
Sun food and wine columnist Wendy Thies Sell reminds drivers to move their vehicle to the right and stop for passing sirens and lights! Contact her at wthies@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Aug 16-23, 2012.