Providence firefighter has no idea how he landed on new PBS reality show, ‘The Great American Recipe’
Raised in the West End of Providence, next to his “classic Italian grandmother,” Rinaldi helped out with Sunday dinners by the time he was in kindergarten.
His culinary passion blossomed while attending high school in Cranston East, and he’s honed his skills since joining the Providence Fire Department at age 18.
He’s now one of 10 cooks on PBS’s new eight-episode reality show, “The Great American Recipe,” broadcast Thursday at 9 p.m. on Rhode Island PBS.
On the show, cooks from across the United States bring their recipes to a farmhouse kitchen for epic cooking. Hosted by Alejandra Ramos, the show “celebrates the multiculturalism that makes American cuisine so vibrant and unique,” according to PBS.
We spoke to Rinaldi, at his home in Cranston, about everything from Foxwoods to firehouse favorites.
Q: So how did you get on this show?
Rinaldi: That’s the million dollar question. I have no idea. …I don’t have Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, anything. Next thing you know, I get an email. I think it’s a fireman’s prank, because these guys are going to spend unlimited energy pulling a prank.
So at first, I’m like, “Okay, whatever.” Then I get some more insight: “Oooh, this is for real.” Next thing you know, I’m in Virginia. All the other contestants have a huge social media presence, so they know how they were found. It was the running joke. They say, “Are you even supposed to be here?” I’m like, “I don’t even know.”
Q: So the filming of the series is finished at this point?
Rinaldi: Well, we filmed last [fall]. I had the good idea to go to Foxwoods the night before coming down. Well, you know what it’s like when you’re in Foxwoods. Next thing you know, here it’s 4 in the morning and it’s like, oh boy. I have to drive to Virginia.
As soon as I arrived, we were in total confinement. They couldn’t risk someone getting COVID. We were tested every day. I started putting it together: It’s a huge deal. There are more than 100 people involved in this production. I was like, “Wow. What did you get yourself into?”
Q: How did you get so good at cooking?
Rinaldi: I started tinkering when I was little, helping my aunts. I lived across from a three story building where my grandparents and my aunt lived. There were a lot of Italians all over the neighborhood.
I started getting more involved once I got into the fire department. Again, this is the story of my life: what did you get yourself into?
But I love this. The kitchen became a self-preservation as there were some pretty awful meals.
Q: When did you start cooking for your fellow firefighters?
Rinaldi: It took a few years, then I started saying slowly, “Do you want me to cook?” There was a nationwide contest to find America’s best firehouse cook, sponsored by Tabasco. I applied for this and ended up going to New York and won America’s Best Cooking Firefighter 2002.
Q: Wow. What are you cooking?
Rinaldi: I made Firehouse Fra Diavolo, which is like spicy tomato seafood over pasta.
Q: How many cooking contests have you entered?
A: Maybe 40, including local chili contests. I won the Hood New England Dairy Cook-Off in Portland, Maine. I was invited to the World Food Championships. The most painful subject: Airbnb selected those they considered to be the 100 best home cooks in the world. I was one. We were be sent to Italy for a week – then COVID hit. They canceled everything.
Q: So what are some recipes you made for the PBS show??
Rinaldi: I did a Rhode Island Calamari, and a tomato sauce you’d see in any Italian home on any Sunday. The first episode, we had to make a dish that represents where you are from and a dish that represents who you are. That’s how these two were selected. It mostly revolved around your ethnicity because that’s the premise of the show: America’s diversity.
Q: What other favorite meals do you prepare at home?
Rinaldi: Sicilian chicken. Any type of homemade pasta. I will make a cacio e pepe, that is pasta with cheese and pepper. I like a good steak, heavily salted and peppered in a hot cast iron skillet. Cowboy rib steak with the bone. I have a smoker – will do ribs, brisket, pulled pork.
Q. Are you completely self-taught?
Rinaldi: Completely self-taught.
Q: What are your favorite meals at the barracks?
Rinaldi: A pasta dish with chicken and sausage, marinated artichoke hearts, pepper and cheese, garlic, shallot. It’s a popular fire station dish. It can be difficult to cook as it is a busy fire station. Sometimes it’s just grilled chicken.
Q: I read that you were trapped in a burning building. What happened?
Rinaldi: Gravity is what happened. We were in Providence, three three-deckers were burning. The one I was in, the roof collapsed. I was cornered, burned, trapped for 32 and a half minutes. When everything collapsed, I was buried. The stove is what kept everything from falling on me; he created a lean-to; I had this little refuge area. It’s ironic: the guy who loves to cook, and the cook ends up saving his life.
If you look at the national stats, I fall into the single digit percent chance of survival. Almost everyone it happens to dies. On the same day, January 6, 2018, a Philadelphia firefighter died in exactly the same way.
I ended up in the hospital, third degree burns, skin grafts, rehabilitation. The doctors said, “We don’t know how your leg didn’t get crushed.
Q: How long did it take you to come back?
Rinaldi: Four months, which is quite fast. I’ve been burned many times in my career, but I’ve never had third degree burns. I never really understood what that entails.
Q: Have you ever burned yourself while cooking?
Rinaldi: Daily. [laughs]
Q: I know you like Italian food. What is your favorite Italian restaurant in Rhode Island?
Rinaldi: Pane a Vinoand Il Massimo. You can’t go wrong with either one.
Q: And was this show your first TV cooking show?
Rinaldi: I did segments. I cooked with Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show” [in 2002.] I’ve cooked on “The Today Show” three times. Once with my daughter because we were one of the finalists in a Girl Scout cookie reuse contest. We called them “Bridging Bars,” made with crushed peanut butter cookies and sweet and sour chocolate. I can send you the recipe. They are a big hit at parties.
Q: Do you also make desserts?
Rinaldi: I do. I have a sweet tooth like you can’t imagine. I’ll be a bit greedy when it comes to desserts, though.
Q: Where do you like to eat desserts in Providence?
Rinaldi: Pastiche on Federal Hill. Oh my God. Their coconut cake is ridiculous.
Lauren Daley can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @laurendaley1.
Comments are closed.