On a humid Monday morning in Jersey City, Pete Gonzalez turned on the stove inside Engine Company 8’s firehouse before sunrise. By 7 a.m., he was slicing onions and prepping pork shoulder for a midday meal. Gonzalez, a firefighter with 14 years on the job, has become known among his colleagues for bringing restaurant-level cooking to the station.
Lunches at Engine Company 8 often include multi-course plates. Last Thursday, Gonzalez served arroz con gandules with slow-cooked pernil, followed by a quick flan for dessert. Meals are funded by pooled contributions, with each firefighter chipping in $12 for the day’s groceries. The menu depends on what Gonzalez finds at the local market, and sometimes, what’s on sale at the supermarket on Grand Street.
Firehouse meals are a core part of daily life, especially during summer when shifts run long and calls spike. Gonzalez says he focuses on dishes that can be quickly reheated if an alarm interrupts dinner. “Everything has to hold,” he said, as he packed extra rice into foil trays last Friday.
Cooking for the crew is about more than food. Gonzalez sees it as a way to keep morale steady on days when the temperature pushes 90 and calls run late into the night. “We eat together when we can,” he said, “and that matters when you’re here 24 hours.”
The tradition of communal meals continues across the city’s firehouses, with each crew adapting menus to their backgrounds and budgets. In Jersey City, Gonzalez’s approach stands out for its attention to detail and his willingness to experiment, even on a busy Monday.