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The 59th annual Cutchogue Fire Department Chicken Barbecue: photos

By Vera Chinese

Cutchogue Fire Depatrment members Ben Benediktsson and Will Park (right) tend to the enormous grill. (Credit: Vera Chinese)

Cutchogue Fire Depatrment members Ben Benediktsson and Will Park (right) tend to the enormous grill. (Credit: Vera Chinese)

Two hundreds volunteers, nearly a year of planning and 3,500 chicken halves.

That’s what it takes to pull off the Cutchogue Fire Department’s chicken barbecue, an annual tradition that brings out thousands of community members to the department’s New Suffolk Avenue grounds each year. The event kicked off its 59th year on Saturday.

Nearly 3,300 people enjoyed chicken roasted over an open flame, fresh local corn, and potato, tomato and cucumber salads, under a tent that shaded them from an unrelenting August sun.

“This is a way for us to raise some money for our company,” said Chris Dinizio, a Cutchogue Fire Department member and the event’s chairperson. “It’s a week-long process to set up and it’s great to see it all come together.”

He thanked the volunteers, community members and sponsors that helped him pull off the event.

“It’s a great accomplishment to run something this big in my town,” he said. “But I wouldn’t be where I am if every one wasn’t helping.”

Caption: Cutchogue Fire Depart2ment members Ben Benediktsson and Will Park (right) tend to the enormous grill. (Credit: Vera Chinese)

See more photos below.

Cutchogue Fire Depatrment members Ben Benediktsson and Will Park (right) tend to the enormous grill. (Credit: Vera Chinese)
Cutchogue Fire Department members Ben Benediktsson and Will Park (right) tend to the enormous grill. (Credit: Vera Chinese)
Lauren McCaffery, Jen Newhouse, Tonya Witczak and Patty Burns, all of Cutchogue. (Credit: Vera Chinese)
Lauren McCaffery, Jen Newhouse, Tonya Witczak and Patty Burns, all of Cutchogue. (Credit: Vera Chinese)
Tom Martin and Tom Shallvui, both ex-chiefs of the department.
Tom Martin and Tom Shallvey, both ex-chiefs of the department.
Donald Grim and his daughter Tracy Grim of Cutchogue. Proud dad couldn't help but brag that his daughter, a Villanova University senior, will soon graduate and join the U.S. Navy.
Donald Grim and his daughter Tracy Grim of Cutchogue. Proud dad couldn’t help but brag that his daughter, a Villanova University senior, will soon graduate and join the U.S. Navy.
Kristen Matejka of Cutchogue and Andrew Komarck of Commack. (Credit: Vera Chinese)
Kristen Matejka of Cutchogue and Andrew Komarck of Commack. (Credit: Vera Chinese)
George Mullane of Islip and Harold Messerschmitt of East Rockaway. (Credit: Vera Chinese)
George Mullane of Islip and Harold Messerschmitt of East Rockaway. (Credit: Vera Chinese)
Reese Pearsall, 7, of Cutchogue, Jocelyn Kaelin, 9, of Southold and Emma Pearsall, 9, of Cutchogue all volunteered their time at Saturday's barbecue.
Reese Pearsall, 7, of Cutchogue, Jocelyn Kaelin, 9, of Southold and Emma Pearsall, 9, of Cutchogue all volunteered their time at Saturday’s barbecue.
The crowd at the 58th annual Cutchogue Fire Department Chicken Barbecue. (Credit: Vera Chinese)
The crowd at the 59th annual Cutchogue Fire Department Chicken Barbecue. (Credit: Vera Chinese)
Dorothy Bakowski of Cutchogue serves up some corn. (Credit: Vera Chinese)
Dorothy Bakowski of Cutchogue serves up some corn. (Credit: Vera Chinese)
The 58th annual Cutchogue Fire Department Chicken Barbecue. (Credit: Vera Chinese)
The 59th annual Cutchogue Fire Department Chicken Barbecue. (Credit: Vera Chinese)

Vera Chinese has been the editor of northforker.com and northforker magazines since May 2014. Prior to that she spent two and a half years as a staff reporter for the New York Daily News. She joined the Riverhead News-Review as a staff writer in January 2010 and was named Associate Web Editor nine months later. She previously worked for the Southampton Press Western Edition and was named the third place 2008 Rookie Reporter of the Year by the New York Press Association. She graduated from Wagner College in 2006 where she received a bachelor's degree in English. She earned a master's degree in English education from New York University in 2007. She is a 2002 graduate of Eastport High School and has lived on the East End for more than 20 years.

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