One Harrison firefighter may extinguish heat for a living, but he will soon be bringing it to the kitchen for a national audience.
Professional firefighter A.J. Fusco will appear on the Food Network’s reality-based cooking television show “Guy’s Grocery Games” on Aug. 14 to compete against three other home cooks in a three-round elimination contest for a chance to win a $20,000 shopping spree.
“You can’t put the feeling into words,” said Fusco, a lifelong resident of Harrison. “I’m excited to represent the Harrison [community] and Westchester County.”
Guy Fieri’s “Guy’s Grocery Games,” which aired first in October 2013, features a number of culinary-themed challenges—such as preparing meals only using frozen food items or using ingredients only cartable in one trip—and is judged by a rotating panel of celebrity judges. Fieri, an American restaurateur, owns six restaurants in California and is widely known for his outgoing personality and other television series on the Food Network, including “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” and “Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off.”
Fusco, 33, said he believed the call from the game show’s representatives was a prank at first, as individuals do not often get the opportunity to appear on national television. A.J.’s father Art said, “It’s terrific as a parent to see your child do something this indescribable. If you give him a task, he’ll do it to the end.”
While serving food for the Harrison Fire Department over the past 11 years, Fusco has built a reputation for being one of the most passionate culinary enthusiasts in the firehouse community by creating a healthy-eating style website, ForkandHoseCo.com.
The website, which Fusco started four years ago to share his recipes with family and friends, emerged through social media and has reached firehouse communities both nationwide and on a global scale.
“[Cooking] is part of the firehouse culture,” Fusco said. “Firefighters would rather have a home-cooked meal than order out.”
He stressed the importance of a healthy-eating lifestyle, citing cardiac-related issues among firefighters as the primary reason for his cooking style. For example, instead of serving traditional french fries, Fusco often prepares sweet potato fries as a healthier option. “We try to focus on healthy eating as much as we can,” he told the Review.
Fusco, however, is not the only New York firefighter to recently appear on a reality-based cooking television show. New York City native Eric Howard, a midtown Manhattan firefighter, is currently competing on Fox’s “MasterChef.”
According to Fusco, the two are actually friends and have shared recipes on multiple occasions. “Being a firefighter is a brotherhood,” he said of his friendship with Howard.
“[Fusco is] an asset to the firehouse in every way possible,” Harrison Fire Chief John Masciola said. “It’s great for him to represent the department as well as the Harrison community.”
After appearing on “Guy’s Grocery Games,” the Harrison firefighter intends to continue his pursuit in the culinary industry. Fusco currently attends the acclaimed International Culinary Center in Manhattan, which was formerly known as the French Culinary Institute.
“It’s worked out amazingly,” Fusco said of balancing out his time as a firefighter and a chef. “The two transcend each other, [and] luckily, I have the ability to cook at the firehouse as much as possible.”
