LOS ANGELES – Sept. 8, 2009 – Firefighters can handle the heat both on the job and in the kitchen. Now you can serve up some of the same crowd-pleasing recipes that have quelled firefighters’ appetites for generations. By purchasing the new Terry Farrell Firefighters Fund California Firehouse Cookbook, you’ll get dozens of firehouse favorites – while also benefiting these local heroes and their families.
Created by the Fund and Jim Beam – the world’s No. 1-selling Bourbon – the cookbook is available for purchase now at participating retail locations across California. Jim Beam will donate $9.99 from the sale of each cookbook to the Terry Farrell Firefighters Fund. Jim Beam will make a minimum donation of $25,000. To celebrate the cookbook release, firefighters will prepare recipes from the cookbook at a barbecue during BevMo!’s 100th grand opening event from 1-4 p.m. on Oct. 24 and 25 in Torrance.
“Local firefighters and their long-standing kitchen camaraderie inspired this cookbook,” says Paige Guzman, category lead, Jim Beam. “While we read a lot about what they do on the job, this cookbook offers a glimpse inside firehouse life and the traditions that bind them together.”
The Fund provides equipment to underfunded fire stations, as well as scholarships and medical services to families of active, retired and deceased firefighters. The organization was established in memory of Chief Terry Farrell, who perished in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center along with 342 of his firefighter brethren.
“Cooking is a big part of firehouse life. We whip up meals for the whole crew and pass down recipes over the years,” says Mike O’Connor, co-founder of the Fund’s California chapter and member of the Escondido Fire Department. “Thanks to Jim Beam, we can share our traditions and give Californians a delicious way to show their appreciation to the firefighters who help keep them safe.”
Firehouse Cookbook recipes range from “Geezer Salad” and “Jim Beam and Cola Barbequed Pork Ribs” to “Spicy Firehouse Chili” and “Fast Truck Chicken,” served with a side of stories about the dishes. Renowned chef Wolfgang Puck also shows his support by sharing his barbecued pork ribs with spicy-sweet rub. Sherry Yard, Puck’s executive pastry chef and a member of a firefighting family, contributed several recipes including one for warm chocolate truffle cakes.
The Fund launched a California chapter in 2008, which already has raised $30,000 and donated $5,000 to California firefighters and families in need. In August, the California chapter kicked off its scholarship program, helping family members of local firefighters attend college.
The cookbook is Jim Beam’s latest show of support for the Terry Farrell Firefighters Fund. Jim Beam also provides financial donations and has dedicated a specialty bottle of Bourbon to the Fund. Nationally, Jim Beam has raised $200,000 since 2005, and plans to donate an additional $100,000 this year by expanding commemorative bottle sales from the East Coast to 23 states. The iconic Bourbon brand is distributing more than 36,000 cases of Jim Beam bottles bearing the Fund’s emblem – representing a six-fold increase in cases from the previous year.
For more information on the Terry Farrell Firefighters Fund, please visit www.terryfarrellfundca.org or www.jimbeam.com.