By Ellen Thompson

Huddled in the tiny kitchen of up-and-coming Manhattan nightspot Strata Restaurant, Donald Barbour of Engine 325 in Woodside tossed a dash of salt onto a batch of scrambled eggs as his two assistants looked over his shoulder.

Barbour, who has spent the past five years putting his life on the line for the New York Fire Department, is no stranger to the kitchens of top-notch restaurants. On the morning of Nov. 7, he reached back into his past to prepare for that night’s World Cares Center September Space fourth annual Iron Skillet Cook Off.

The 34-year-old firefighter learned the real ins and outs of kitchen culture when he worked in upscale restaurants in Atlanta and the Hamptons for nearly five years. But what he had fallen in love with during his days training at North East Culinary Institute was no match for the stress he would endure behind the swinging doors of the kitchen.

“The schedule as a chef was just hectic and tiring, I would have to work almost every holiday and would rarely have weekends off,” Barbour said. “It really didn’t make me happy after a while. In a way its more stressful being a chef than it is a firefighter.”

When Barbour first heard of the Iron Skillet Cook-Off three years ago, he jumped at the opportunity and signed up two years in a row, having to decline the offer to face off against an executive Manhattan chef twice. This August, though, when he found out he made it he decided to step up to the stove and take part in the fundraiser that benefits those affected by Sept. 11 and other disasters.

World Cares Center Executive Director Lisa Orloff, who volunteered during the months following Sept. 11, turned to those with whom she was working side-by-side in hopes of giving back to the volunteers, she said.

“I was brainstorming with a few other rescue workers and firefighters and the idea of a cook-off as an initial ‘thank you’ just stuck,” Orloff said.

After close to 30 firefighters throughout the five boroughs signed up, September Space chose the contestants on a first-come basis and paired them up against the Manhattan executive chiefs and was told to select a meal to prepare.

“I had to choose my own dish and then write a recipe for it,” Barbour said, so he went with Salmon with Corn Risotto and a Gazpacho Sauce, because “it sounded good.”

Each firefighter was allowed to choose two fellow firefighters from their house as assistants and Barbour chose two men that he knew would complement his style well and enhance his chances against Alexandra Guarnaschelli, executive chef at Butter in Manhattan.

“The judges tonight will just have to recognize Don’s skill and potential, that is pretty much what it comes down to,” said assistant Terrence Osborne before the cook off.

“Don really is the best cook we have at the house or at least the most extravagant,” added James Padula, the second assistant.

At around 6 p.m. 10 firefighters from Engine 325 and Barbour’s parents, who came up from Virginia, showed up to the restaurant situated on the corner of 21st Street and Broadway to support their personal hero.

After the dishes were garnished with the finishing touches and made their way to the palates of the 10 celebrity judges, including Anthony Galde from the cast of “Wicked,” Wendy “the Snapple Lady” Kaufman and CBS Survivor Tom Westman, John Sierp of Ladder 169 in Brighton Beach was awarded the vaunted iron skillet award with a slew of other kitchen tools for his Rigatoni alla Rescigno with Crab Bruschetta.

The proceeds will go towards programming, help in the Gulf region in response to the recent hurricanes and everyday disaster relief, Orloff said.

“Both jobs have been extremely gratifying and rewarding for me, but I feel that I contribute so much more to people’s lives by doing what I am now,” Barbour said.