Lidia Celebrates America: A Salute to First Responders

Lidia reflects on what it takes to be an Emergency Medical Technician on the front-lines, as she spends time virtually with the Station Chief for Emergency Medical Services, Captain Jennifer Ison, and Lieutenant Dwight Scott of FDNY EMS Station 17 in the South Bronx. The COVID-19 pandemic has made the job of EMT especially challenging.

Jacob Mual was a chef for 22 years, but in 2015 he started volunteering with the local fire department. Over a Zoom call, Lidia oversees, as Jacob prepares Chicken Alla Pitocca, a recipe she's contributing to the cookbook he's writing. Jacob talks with Lidia about how firefighters cook for each other at the stations, and what it's like to risk your life for a job.

Sisters Connie and Francesca Zapella are firewomen in the Jersey City Fire Department. They talk with Lidia about what it's like to be female in a male-dominated profession.

Chef, cookbook author, and former police officer Eddie McNamara talks with Lidia about his experience working during the aftermath of 9/11, and how cooking has helped him through the PTSD that he's suffered as a result. As Lidia watches via zoom, Eddie prepares his special meatballs, which she is then able to taste, since he has had some delivered to her house.

U.S. Army Veteran Jenine Chance lost her brother Jesse 12 years ago in Afghanistan War. Since 2003, she has volunteered with 'Operation Gratitude,' sending care packages to military personnel. She continues this tradition to keep Jesse's memory alive, and now they are also sending care packages to Frontline workers in the U.S. Lidia adds her own letter of thanks to a care package.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lidia is not able to invite all the first responders she met to a celebratory meal, as is traditional for her Specials. Instead, she prepares her Breakfast Risotto, a delicious comfort-food that she sends as a thank you to each of the first responders that she met during filming. Watch as Lidia prepares the recipe in her home kitchen.

Celebrity Chef Lidia Bastianich travels across the country visiting the men and women serving on the front lines, from firefighters in California battling wildfires, to medical workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic in New York. Lidia meets first responders who’ve worked quietly in the shadows, and now find themselves thrust into the spotlight by crises facing the country in 2020.

Celebrity Chef Lidia Bastianich travels across the country visiting the men and women serving on the front lines, from firefighters in California battling wildfires, to medical workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic in New York. Lidia meets first responders who’ve worked quietly in the shadows and now find themselves thrust into the spotlight by crises facing the country in 2020.