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LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — A Los Angeles Fire Department firefighter has gone viral for his gourmet in-station recipes, gaining thousands of followers as he documents how he makes meals for his team.
Scott Luft, a 36-year-old firefighter paramedic at LAFD Station 86 in Toluca Lake, says that he may have gone to culinary school if he wasn’t with LAFD.
“I’ve always been obsessed with cooking, since high school,” Luft said.
He says that while some of his colleagues don’t enjoy cooking for the station, he loves it. Luft utilizes a Google Drive filled with hundreds of recipes, like the elote pasta salad he made while speaking with CBS LA.
“When you’re in charge of feeding them good food, on time, in budget, it’s totally stressful for some guys,” Luft said.
Because of this, Luft’s wife Kiley suggested that he start an Instagram cooking channel to help fellow firefighters in the kitchen. He slowly gained a following until November, when he went viral. Now, he has more than 37,000 followers and is blown away by the support.
“I’m realizing that cooking for a fire station is just like cooking for big families,” Luft said.
As a busy father of four hungry children, Luft says that he’s always multitasking, even when not cooking in the station. He keeps his recipes easy and hearty, with no more than an hour and a half cook time. He says the hardest part about making his meals at the station is that when duty calls, he has to drop everything.
“I always tell guys start early. Chop early. Serve before you think it’s time,” he said.
While he’s always open to suggestions from his new followers on things like recipes, food presentation and camera angles, he says his best reviews always come from his colleagues.
“Scott takes really simple stuff that most of us have made and puts an incredible spin on it, every time,” said Scott Lazar, a fellow LAFD firefighter.
The team splits the cost of their meals, since they’re not paid for by the department. For the elote pasta salad, the nearly $55 grocery bill was split six ways.
“I feel like I actually am kind of a chef,” Luft said. “I’m getting paid to cook, and I also get to be a fireman, which has always been a dream to me. So, I’m kind of living my dream right now.”
He says that his next dream is to become the Guy Fieri of fire cooks by hosting a show where he goes to fire stations around the country to taste their best meals and offer advice.
I feel like I actually am kind of a chef. I’m getting paid to cook, and I also get to be a fireman, which has always been a dream to be. So I’m kind of living my dream right now.
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