'Firehouse Cook Challenge': Milwaukee-area firefighters showcase their culinary skills

FRANKLIN, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A few Milwaukee-area firefighters submitted their favorite recipes to be part of the 'Firehouse Cook Challenge' competition and were put to the test on Thursday, Aug. 8. 

Paramedic Firefighters Adam Wendt with Wauwatosa Fire Department, Briona Conway with Milwaukee Fire Department, and Jason Katz with North Shore Fire Department had one hour Thursday afternoon to make a dish of their choice to be judged by local chefs and business owners at the Polish Center of Wisconsin in Franklin.

Wendt prepared an egg bake dish called "South of the Border."

“My father kind of adapted the recipe from another guy at the fire department, probably close to 30 years ago,” he explained.

Conway prepared a teriyaki chicken pineapple bowl with coconut rice she said she saw on TikTok.

“Then I just doctored it based on what I actually wanted or didn’t want to add,” she said.

Katz prepared bacon kimchi fried rice.

"It's born out of a recipe from a breakfast burrito down on Cape Cod where we'd have our family vacations for a lot of years," he said.

Katz also told CBS 58 News that these types of competitions are also ways to build community.

“Kind of typical of sitting around the firehouse table, we all eat together, we all talk together, if you put 10 firefighters at a kitchen table around good food and coffee, we can typically solve the world's problems in an hour or so,” he said.

Four judges rated the three dishes based on taste, texture, creativity and overall impression.

Conway won first place and Wendt got second place.

The three finalists competed for a grand prize to be split between themselves and their fire station. Iron Mountain Refrigeration awarded Conway and the Milwaukee Fire Department $5,000 in refrigeration equipment of her choice. Second and third place winners were also to receive $2,500 and $1,000 in refrigeration equipment.