From the firehouse to the feed
*.
Toluca Lake firefighter Scott Luft has turned his firehouse cooking into an Instagram sensation. His page LufttoCook has more than 28,000 followers and inspires firefighters nationwide.
*.
Luft has cooked for his station for 12 years. His recipes are now reaching far beyond the firehouse kitchen. His Instagram page, LufttoCook, has more than 28,000 followers, according to NBC Los Angeles.
Luft uses the station intercom to announce when meals are ready.
“Ten minute warning! Ten minute warning! In the kitchen; lunch is coming,” Luft said, according to the NBC Los Angeles report.
His fellow firefighters welcome the break from cooking duties. Luft said his crew shows visible relief when he takes the stove.
“It is scary to guys. I mean, you see the sweat start dripping down their face when you say, ‘Hey man, you’re up to cook, dude,’” Luft said, per NBC Los Angeles.
Fire Capt. Aaron Jagoe, who has been at Station 86 for two years, said he has never had the same meal twice.
“It’s pretty incredible what he’s done,” Jagoe said. “In the two years I’ve been here, I don’t think I’ve had the same meal twice.”
Luft started creating his own recipes after growing tired of typical firehouse fare. He considered writing a cookbook until his wife suggested social media first.
“I was talking to my wife about it and she’s like, ‘Well, if you have a cookbook, who’s going to buy it? Why would they buy it,’” Luft recalled, according to NBC Los Angeles. “‘You have to start a social media page in order to get yourself some traction.’”
The advice worked. Firefighters from across the country now follow his posts for recipe ideas.
“I’ve had firemen from Florida send me, ‘Oh dude, thanks for the videos. I have a rookie meal coming up and I’m going to make this,’ or ‘I’ve been making this for the last 25 years... I’m going to make your Chili Colorado,’” Luft said.
The hardest part of firehouse cooking is not the recipes. It is the timing. A dispatch call can interrupt any meal in progress.
“You’re always fighting that call,” Luft said. “You’re waiting for that call to come in and it’s like, ‘Okay, if that call comes in, am I going to be able to leave?’ You have to leave. ‘Is this going to be ruined?’”
Luft designs his dishes to be quick and easy enough to pause mid-prep.
Jagoe said Luft’s cooking has influenced his own household.
“I’ve actually transitioned in my home life,” Jagoe said. “My wife is a big fan of his and the cookies are a big hit in my house.”
For Luft, the cooking is about finding a niche and mastering it.
“You got to be good at something,” Luft said. “We always say, you got to be good at something.”
This article was generated with AI assistance.