HERO & CHEF
Bravest dies of 9/11 ills; made name in kitchen
A RETIRED FDNY firefighter whose culinary skills brought him TV accolades as the beloved “Firehouse Chef” has died — the latest victim of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
In his 18-year career with the city Fire Department, Keith Young made a name for himself in the kitchen, winning several TV cooking challenges, tangling with celebrity chef Bobby Flay, and writing his own recipe book.
On Saturday, he lost his battle with a World Trade Center-related illness, an FDNY spokesman confirmed.
Young, 53, joined the FDNY in November 1998 and retired in September 2016. He worked on rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
While stationed at Ladder 156 in Midwood, Brooklyn, he turned the firehouse kitchen into a neatly organized culinary workshop — lining up racks of spices and seasoning, with rows of knives underneath.
“You can make a great dish or a horrible dish, the guys bust your chops either way,” Young said in a 2004 interview with the Daily News.
A student of culinary arts at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island, he parlayed his kitchen skills into a book, “Cooking With the Firehouse Chef,” in 2003.
Four years later, Young triumphed in a chicken cacciatore cookoff on an episode of “Throwdown With Bobby Flay” on the Food Network.
He also took home two championship titles on another Food Network show, “Chopped.”
In 2012, Young, a father of three children, lost his wife to breast cancer.
Young’s 24-year-old daughter, Kaley, opened up this month on Facebook and Instagram about her dad’s illness.
“It’s definitely not easy seeing your dad fight cancer, but the amount of strength he has is so admirable,” she wrote March 3.
“This is a time in my life that makes me appreciate every moment that I have with the people that I love even more.”
Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro told The News, “World Trade Center-related illnesses continue to inflict devastating loss on the FDNY family. We will never forget Firefighter Keith Young’s bravery and his selfless sacrifice.”