America's Best Firehouse Chefs Slideshow

Ceravolo's reputation for being an excellent cook goes well beyond the New York City Fire Department, which he's served for more than 22 years. Two career highlights: He's cooked with Emeril and made eggplant Parmesan for President Obama — plus, about 80 staff and security guards. "I don't use measurements," he explains. "I go by taste and my mother's rules." It's fitting, then, that Ceravolo doesn't identify with just one type of food — he makes Mexican and Italian just as deftly as Chinese and Mediterranean. The guys at the station especially love his lasagna, made with hot sausage, spinach or broccoli rabe, ricotta that's so thick it's more like mascarpone (be sure to loosen it up with a bit of cream), eggs, garlic, and fresh mozzarella. Tip: Put a layer of dry lasagna noodles on top of the dish. They'll brown to a crisp, keeping the cheese and sauce below moist. About 15 minutes before you take the dish out of the oven, pull off that top layer to reveal a soft underbelly.

See all lasagna recipes.

Traditional Southern fare drowning in butter and gravy is on menus more often than not at Savannah Fire Emergency Services. Master Firefighter Goldman, who's been with the department for 12 years, got his signature "Hog and Rice" recipe from a captain who got it from a captain before him. To make the rich dish, put a Boston butt (cut into two-inch chunks), two liters of Coca-Cola, one package of Lipton onion soup mix, one diced onion, a pound of sliced mushrooms, and two cans of cream of mushroom soup into a pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn the heat down to a slow boil until the meat's so tender it falls apart when you push it against the side of the pot. Remove the meat, but save the stock. Cook four cups of rice in a Dutch oven, adding three cups of stock for each cup of rice; add another packet of Lipton onion soup and add salt and pepper to taste. Tear the meat into edible pieces. Add the meat and the rice into an ovensafe pot  with any remaining stock. Cover and cook at 350 degrees until the rice is tender.

See all ham recipes.

When Lieutenant Poole first joined the Seattle Fire Department, he was assigned to a quiet station in the north part of town — but he longed to be closer to the action. The captain agreed to transfer him downtown, with one stipulation: He had to be able to cook. With those words, a separate but parallel career began. In the 30 years since, Poole opened a concession business selling Jamaican jerk chicken and fresh juice, catered firefighter events, and graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris with a degree in pastry. He now runs an award-winning catering company that turns out flan, caramel, and handcrafted French chocolate. To recreate one of his instant firehouse hits, find a basic dark or milk chocolate bar recipe, then add caramel and bits of bacon.

"I'm a meatloaf and mashed potatoes kind of guy," says Capeless while ruminating on his 27 years as a firefighter with the Boston Fire Department. That may be so, but his skills are more fine-tuned than he'd have you believe. The crew needs to eat meat so he jokingly refers to one of his specialties as the "Italian Festival," a mix of homemade meatballs, sausages, and chicken Parmesan, which he always pairs with a healthy salad. On tonight's menu? Grilled teriyaki-glazed chicken and a chocolate frosted cake.

A 10-year veteran with the City of Atlanta Fire Rescue Department, Turner can throw down the biscuits and fried chicken, but most of the crew hails from Georgia so he likes to experiment with Italian, Mexican, and American cuisine. One favorite: Chicken MoMo. Click here for the recipe.

"You're gonna get ridiculed a little bit, you're gonna take heat if you don't perform well in the kitchen," muses driver/operator engineer McConnell good-naturedly. "I started at Breckenridge's Red, White, and Blue Fire Protection District with that in mind." Nine years later, Mexican dishes like chicken enchiladas in verde sauce are a specialty. First, make the filling with chunked-up chicken, olives, onions, tomatoes, and green chili. Heat corn tortillas in a bit of oil in the oven. Remove the tortillas, add the filling, roll them up, top with cheese, and pop them back in the oven until the tortillas are crisp. Top them with enchilada sauce, and return them to the oven to harden again. When they're crispy, take them out and sprinkle onions, peppers, and more olives on top. Presentation matters, so plate them with fresh salsa, sour cream, and freshly sliced avocado.

The Dallas Fire-Rescue department is equipped with a pit smoker, a wood-burning stove, and a gas grill, allowing 33-year veteran Blankenship to cook up to four meats at a time — which is key when charged with making three meals a day for 12 people. Blankenship recently won the Tabasco Cook & Ladder Recipe competition — judged by Mario Batali, among others — for his Southwest glazed rack of lamb with smoked vegetable grits. Click here for the recipe.

During his 23 years with the Providence Fire Department, Rinaldi has appeared on TODAY, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and The Rosie O'Donnell Show, and won the Hood New England Dairy Cook-Off, among other competitions. Born into a family that hung spaghetti instead of clothes out to dry on laundry racks, Rinaldi has a natural gift for Italian cooking, and is partial to mixing pasta and seafood. To make his Frutti di Mare, fry shallots and garlic in garlic oil, then add shrimp, scallops, lobster, and littleneck clams. Tip: Littleneck clams take much longer to open up than scallops take to cook, so be sure to add them according to the proper cooking times. Add salt, pepper, San Marzano tomatoes, crushed red pepper for a little kick, fresh parsley and basil, and a dash of white wine. At the same time, bring a stockpot filled high with water to a boil and cook angel hair pasta until it's al dente. (Don't add oil to the water; it will prevent the sauce from sticking to the pasta later on.) Strain the pasta and add it to the sauce to cook for just a few minutes. Serve warm, topped with a sprig of basil.