Fire Food and Bread

Fire Station 31 (Photo – cityofpasadena.net)

Several years ago, in a Paris restaurant, I met a California Fire Marshall who was passionate about French gastronomy.

By Christopher Bonin

During our conversation, he told me about the great culinary talent of several American firefighters he knew.

Many of them have produced recipe books and cooking shows broadcast on social networks and TV channels. Firefighter-cooks also pass on valuable fire prevention advice. Based on my taste test at Pasadena Fire Station 31, ten years ago, fire stations could easily obtain stars from culinary critics.

Since its beginning, San Francisco has had a large French community. For a long time, “The City of Paris,” a department store, sold goods that came directly from the city of lights. From 1853 to 1866, the French founded and ran a fire company in San Francisco (“Compagnie Lafayette deéchelles et des crochets”).

San Franciscans, and firefighters and dockers in particular, appreciate clam chowder served in a bread bowl.This is surely due to the Frenchman Isidore Boudin, born in Burgundy, who in 1849 created the first “French bakery” on the port. Boudin Bakery has become a bakery empire. Isidore was only 16 years old when he arrived in California with a sourdough starter in his pocket. He arrived on one of 17 chartered boats, thanks to the official, rigged, «gold bar lottery» organized in Paris

Many in SoCal still recall Helms bakery. Remember the famous special horn that equipped the fleet of 1,000 yellow vans that crisscrossed the streets of LA, Fresno or San Diego? Helms was also the American Olympic bread of the 1932 Olympic Games and provided the bread for NASA’s Apollo XI Mission, making it the first bread on the moon! This bakery, located on the border of Culver City and Los Angeles, fed several generations from 1931 to 1969. In November 2024 the Helms brand returned!  Helms’ Chef Sang Yoon is not alone. He is accompanied by two Frenchmen in this adventure— Chef Jacob Fraijo (baker) and chef Dominique Crenn (chef at Atelier Crenn restaurant in San Francisco, and featured on Netflix’s “Chef’s table”).

If you want to make your own bread, there is a great flour mill in Pasadena: Grist & Toll, 990 S. Arroyo Pkwy #1, Pasadena, CA 91105.