By Helen Klein
11/03/2006
As the well-dressed, well-heeled crowd milled around the tony Manhattan restaurant, nibbling daintily from little plates of goodies, Brooklyn firefighter Carmine Ancona smilingly served up yet another helping of his specialty, Fusilli with Shrimp ala Fiero - a solid, spicy dish that the firefighters in his company crave.
Ancona, who works at Engine Company 247, at New Utrecht Avenue and 60th Street, was one of five firefighters (one from each borough) competing against professional chefs from Manhattan restaurants in the fifth annual Iron Skillet cook-off, which pits the best cooks among New York's Bravest against those who wear the toques in some of the city's posh dining spots, with a host of celebrities doing the judging.
It's not just bragging rights that are at stake. Rather, those who participate in the event - which is a fundraiser, with guests paying $150 for the privilege of attending - are doing so to benefit the World Cares Center (WCC), a not-for-profit organization founded after the 9/11 terrorist attacks to provide aid to those suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, and to help New York City, and other communities in the country, rebound from disasters.
“If I win, I'll feel fabulous,� noted Ancona, as he paused to talk between ladlings of his savory dish at Strata Restaurant, 915 Broadway, where the cook-off was held. “I'll probably feel fabulous if I lose, too. It's a great event, they're a great organization, and I'm having a ball just doing it.�
As it turned out, Ancona didn't snag the iron skillet or either of the two runner-up spots with his concoction.
But, his savory, warming blend of tomatoes, garlic, jalapeno peppers, parsley and basil that evolved through trial and error in the firehouse kitchen was a winner in its own right, featuring a kicky sauce that effectively paired tender shrimp with fusilli, sprinkled with gratings of pecorino cheese and drizzled with spicy pesto.
Ancona, who has been with the FDNY for 19 years, and who has been cooking as long as he has been fighting fires, said he had devised the dish, then, “Asked my critics (the other firefighters) what they thought. I added, and took away, and added. It took a while but we got it down. These guys are the best critics in the world. They tell it like it is.�
If Ancona's pasta dish was hearty, the professional chef's take on it was, to say the least, ethereal. Christian Swaiger, of the West Village restaurant Sumile, substituted angel hair pasta for the fusilli and mint for the basil, cut everything up into tiny pieces, and served the resulting dish chilled, cradled in Boston lettuce leaves – the sort of delicate and somewhat fussy dish not likely to be found on a firehouse dining table.
What else does Ancona cook? “Pizza's a main one,� the firefighter remarked, though he said he didn't have time to make his own dough.
Does he also cook at home? Of course, Ancona acknowledged, saying that his wife, Kathy, and daughters, Jessie and Toni, “love� his culinary creations.
They're not the only ones. Ancona has actually been called back to the firehouse while on vacation to cook for the assembled crew.
“The chief wants to know if you could come in and prepare dinner for them. There are no cooks tonight,� he was told once. Talk about devotion! “I said yes, after a while,� Ancona recalled.