Crime & Safety

Team Featuring Dacula-Based Firefighter Wins Cook-off

Team Top Chef, which included Battalion Chief Billy Clark of the Fire Academy in Dacula, won a heart healthy inspired cook-off on June 23.

Four teams of Gwinnett firefighters squared off this past weekend for the June 23 “Fired Up for Heart Health” cook-off at Gwinnett Medical Center’s Strickland Heart Center.

Firefighters and EMS personnel prepared a variety of heart healthy dishes to raise awareness about the dangers of heart disease and to encourage healthier cooking.

Team Top Chef, featuring Battalion Chief Billy Clark of the and Battalion Chief Russell Knick of Battalion 3, won the competition with their dish of salmon steaks with peach salsa and springtime quinoa.

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“The competition and event on the whole was a great experience,” said Chief Knick in a released statement, “And I’ll definitely make this recipe and others from the competition at home, particularly the quinoa -- that ingredient was a big hit with the judges.”

For their winning effort, Knick and Clark received a set of All-Clad pots and pans, a $100 Whole Foods gift card and a trophy.

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Other teams participating in the cook-off included Team Extreme Southern Heat of Station 15 in Lawrenceville, Team Sizzle of Station 20 in Lawrenceville, and Team Firejug, a firefighter husband and wife team from Station 26A in Sugar Hill and Station 14C in Buford.

The competition was judged by Manfred Sandler, MD, medical director of cardiology at GMC, Jay Dennard, chief operating officer at GMC-Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County Fire Chief Bill Myers and celebrity guest judge Justin Balmes, a Food Network Star and Chef Instructor at the Art Institute of Atlanta. 


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