Marcus Olson, The Brass Elephant’s executive chef, has been in town less than a year, but he’s already getting involved in the community, despite his crazy work schedule.

This evening, Marcus will kick off an initiative, “Fit Fire Fighters,” at 6:30 p.m. with Mayor Sheila Dixon at the Oldtown fire station. It’ll be a meet and greet with a brief discussion about food preparation and nutrition. Marcus has been working on this initiative for months.

He will continue the weekly program on Tuesdays at various fire stations, teaching firefighters about healthy cooking techniques and using local ingredients. The lessons are part of the mayor’s “Fit Baltimore” campaign, said Kevin Cartwright, the fire department’s spokesman.

I know a lot of other local chefs give up their time by volunteering their services and food at charity benefits and helping culinary students (e.g. Sotto Sopra’s executive chef Bill Crouse at the Carver Center for Arts and Technology in Towson). Kudos to all of them.

If you know of anyone who deserves recognition, please let me know in a comment or at lsuzanne@baltimoremagazine.net.