About Us
Providing a Pathway to Tranquility and Relief
Code4Cooking is dedicated to teaching people of all ages how to cook — from breakfast, lunch, and dinner to appetizers, tailgates, side dishes, and more. Our mission is to help first responders find a way to decompress, peace of mind, and a safe place to apply skills they learned on the job in a different way.
Here at Code4Cooking, everyone can develop or improve life cooking skills in a nonjudgmental setting. From short, one-item videos to full-length complete meals, we walk you through each step. Unlike most cooking videos, we stay with you from mise en place (gathering and preparing the food) to cooking and plating. We also take breaks during the cook so you don't get overwhelmed. We don't want you to give up! We want you to find joy and happiness in cooking and to know you're not alone.
Come cook with me, your partner in the kitchen!
Our Story
As a first responder, credibility is important. To talk to first responders about this life, you need to have truly been there, done that, and come out on the other end still wanting to be a part of the community even with baggage. Out of the game, not out of the fight.
Starting in the summer of ’93, I got my EMT-B training and started work that fall for a rural ambulance service in northern Minnesota. While still working the following fall, I started my AAS degree in Paramedicine from East Grand Forks Technical College. After graduation, having all the cards (ACLS, PALS, PEEP, NRP, PHTLS, CPR, State, and NREMT-P), I took a job in Cincinnati, OH, with Rural/Metro ‘96. Working with general transport, emergency runs, and advanced transport (Vent, multiple pumps, and drips). Worked my way up to field supervisor for a couple of years before giving up the sups position to just work the trucks.
I left Rural/Metro to go to work at the Level I Cincinnati Children’s Hospital ED, ‘01. Over the next five years, the ED saw 250-300 kids a day through the ED and in the winter as many as 450. Working with the nursing staff and physicians to provide care to routine as well as critical care (Trauma Bays) patients, but also to work with specialty physicians as well. I was a PALS instructor, as well as a skills instructor for new hires and residents (Procedure days).
After five years, I took a job at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) ambulance service in 2006. HCMC EMS is an exclusively 911 service covering 14 municipalities and over 1M people in the Minneapolis metro area. The service saw in my time there 70K-100K calls per year. I was very active with the schedule building as well as helping design the FTO programs.
Over the course of my career, like many of you, I would hear from management and the public that “I signed up for this.” Referring to all of the horrible things we see and do. However, I must say when I “signed up”, there was never a mention that I would be working through 9/11, riots in Cincinnati, 4th precinct riots, global H1N1, SARS, Ebola, Covid, and the George Floyd Riots which turned Minneapolis into a war zone, and more.
In spring 2021, after over 15 years at HCMC, 28 years in emergency services, I left EMS altogether. In leaving, I took with me reflux, high blood pressure, PTSD, etc., and a general distrust of many people. It took several years of counseling to understand and unpack many of the horrors I worked through to be able to move on to today.
This brings me to the now. In 2024, I began making cooking videos. My EMS family always ate well when we worked together, and cooking reduced some of my stress over the years. So here I am, sharing my knowledge of cooking, and hopefully sharing a helpful voice for other first responders and military personnel who may be struggling as well.
No longer working in EMS, I continue to unpack my demons, but still reach out to my EMS and military family to let them know if they are struggling, they are not alone. If you’ve left the service because of mental health issues, you may be feeling a sense of loss and worry that you’re letting down those still working. Far from it. You and I are on a new path, and can show that we are never out of the fight in support of our family. Together, we are never alone.