ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando Fire Department Engineer Emanuel “Manny” Washington beat three other firefighters on a recent Cutthroat Kitchen firefighter episode.
Food Network’s Cutthroat Kitchen is a reality cooking television show hosted by Alton Brown. Chefs must be able to outwit and, at times, sabotage opponents in order to win. Each episode features four people competing in three rounds to win up to $25,000 cash.
The episode was recorded earlier this year and the firefighter contestants were sworn to secrecy about the outcome. The show aired Sunday and will be rebroadcast Thursday.
Washington took on three other firefighters from fire departments across the country in the episode “Stop, Drop and Flambé.” The firefighters-turned-chefs prepared chili cheese fries, buffalo chicken sandwiches and flambé.
“This whole day, everything was cooked well,” judge Antonia Lofaso, who was on hand to sample the plates of the day, said. Challenges the firefighters faced were burned chicken in a blazing building and food that had to be transported through the length of a 50-foot fire hose.
In the final round, Antonia said, “It was really a tossup at the end.” But she said she liked Chef Manny’s flambé better.
Washington has been cooking for more than a decade and became the chef of his station the second day on the job.