Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee Bucks staff prepare Thanksgiving dinner for MFD firefighters

While many people are gathered with their families Thanksgiving Day, some are working, including more than 200 Milwaukee firefighters.

The Milwaukee Bucks organization and Fiserv Forum culinary staff prepared Thanksgiving meals for them to show their gratitude.

 “We have some nice oven roasted turkeys, we have chorizo and butternut squash dressing, garlic whipped mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, crumb crust apple pie,” said Kenneth Hardiman, Fiserv Forum senior executive chef.

The organization wanted to show their appreciation for the hardworking department.

“It was a three day process, and we obviously had a sold out game last night, so it was a busy day for us. The turkey was a long process,” said Chef Hardiman.

Staff made 36 turkeys and used nearly 60 pounds of ingredients for the dinners that were distributed to 31 firehouses.

Firefighters said although they’re away from family, the generosity made it somewhat easier. “It’s a 24-hour shift,” said Lt. Kevin Monaghan with the Milwaukee Fire Department. “We start our day at 7 o’clock in the morning and then we go till tomorrow morning.”

The crew at station 2 got a call when they were all supposed to be having dinner together.

“Kind of a reality of what Thanksgiving is at the firehouse. We were all supposed to be breaking bread and enjoying a little dinner given to us, and now it’s gonna be cold when they get back.”

Still, they were grateful.

“Nothing against our cooks here, they can cook very good meals but this is fancy food for us,” added Lt. Monaghan.