The fire truck at University Mall on Tuesday night was not responding to an emergency.
It was there for a cooking class.
Captain Byron Greeson of the Chapel Hill Fire Department Station 4 taught his second cooking class at A Southern Season to about 30 people.
Tuesday’s menu, inspired by game day finger food, included cumin tortilla chips, fresh pico de gallo, cornbread, Cincinnati-style chili and “the World’s Best Cookies,” a recipe of his wife’s.
“This is not your typical 3 a.m. fire alarm chili,” Greeson said. “We put cocoa in the chili. It gives it a really good aroma.”
Though Greeson was an expert on chili and corn bread, his day job was apparent.
Greeson interlaced cooking advice with fire safety tips, reminding participants to not only brown beef before putting it in the crock pot but also to stop, drop, and roll.
“I figured while I was at the cooking class, I would throw some fire safety plugs in,” he said.
Greeson said he regularly teaches about fire safety, but last summer marked his first cooking class.