The firefighter chef keeps his cool in the kitchen

Paul Knapp passing on his cookery skills to the next generation.

TWENTY-EIGHT years serving as a firefighter, Paul Knapp has spent his past 19 in Limerick, but itโ€™s only in recent years that he has merged his love for fire, food and fitness to become โ€˜The Firefighting Chefโ€™.

After leaving school at the age of 15, Paul had two ambitions. One was to travel and the other was to join the Fire Service.

โ€œI could do neither at that time because my mum had my passport, she wouldnโ€™t give it to me and the fire service wouldnโ€™t look at you until you were 18โ€.

Because of that, he says he was lucky to have the chance to work in a kitchen for the three years before he finally went travelling after he turned 18.

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However, the practical nature of kitchen work suited his learning style:ย โ€œIโ€™m the type of person that has to learn through life, Iโ€™d have to touch it and taste,โ€ he explained.

โ€œIf someone said โ€˜thatโ€™s hotโ€™, Iโ€™d have to touch it and say โ€˜oh thatโ€™s hotโ€™ and if someone said โ€˜thatโ€™s spicyโ€™ Iโ€™d have to taste it and say โ€˜oh thatโ€™s spicyโ€™. Thatโ€™s just the way I learn. Some people would be academic and read about it. I just roll my sleeves up and jump in.โ€

While on his travels, he was exposed to different cultures and cuisines. Staying outside Barcelona, he was one of aย group of 12 people โ€œall different nationalities, all aged about 18 with our lives ahead of usโ€.

โ€œWe would have a budget of about ยฃ2 a day, and weโ€™d chip in to buy cheese, wine, bread. There was a mish-mash of cultures and food, all put down on this table. We sat there and ate, and talked about what we wanted to do for the future. Food brought us all together, and food still brings people together.โ€

And he believes that the work in the kitchen and the fire service โ€œmirror each otherโ€ in some ways.

โ€œItโ€™s all preparation and teamwork. The roles are both pressurised. In a restaurant, we have a prescribed menu, so we prepare for that. You have your starters, main courses, and your sweets so we have everything we need for our menu.โ€

โ€œWith the fire service, our menu can be anything and everything, so we are always preparing for anything thatโ€™s on the menu. If someone calls with something thatโ€™s not on our menu, we can take a piece of each thing and put them together to perform a test in an effective and safe mannerโ€.

Listen to the full interview at www.limerickpost.ie/podcasts

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