Community Corner

St. James Chef Competes in New Food Network Show

Adam Goldgell attempts to win his own restaurant on "Restaurant Express."

A St. James chef is ready to take on the competion to win his own restaurant on a new Food Network reality television show.

Adam Goldgell will compete against 8 other cooks in the Food Network's new reality series "Restaurant Express" hosted by the famous Robert Irvine. The show premiered this Sunday, Nov. 3 at 9 p.m.

Goldgell, currently serving as executive chef of The Reel in East Rockaway, has been working as a chef for more than 15 years. He's served up dishes at the four-star Panama Hatties in Huntington and former executive chef of Sugo in Long Beach.

No stranger to reality television, Goldgell's appeared on "Chopped" in season 4 but wound up competing in "Restaurant Express" by chance.

"A friend of mine submitted me to be on another show by the same production company, but they called me for this show instead," Goldgell said. " It was interesting because the prize I was offered at the time was winning your own restaurant, that had a lot of appeal to me."

Goldgell has owned his own restaurants before - two barbeque restaurants and a gourmet burger restaurant - but he was looking for a new venture. So he packed his bags this summer and headed out for filming in Las Vegas.

In the season premiere of 'Restaurant Express,"Goldgell meets his 8 other competitors which include a chicken farmer, a military veteran, a woman from Korea and more.

"As the challenges were unfolding they were about owning your own restaurant. I knew a lot about those things. I felt this show was right up my alley," Goldgell said.

Things got off to a rocky start for Goldgell as Irvine didn't like his initial restaurant concept, a community dining restaurant where people sit together at one table. He's one of two contestants considered for elimination, but earned his bed on the show's bus to travel to the next challenge - opening his own restaurant on a $500 budget.

"It was a lot of fun with some stressful moment," Goldgell said. "Tt was 122 degrees, it was one of the hottest days ever in Las Vegas. It was dangerous."

Goldgell said watching himself compete during a viewing show at The Reel on Sunday was "fascinating and scary at the same time, it’s like the first time you hear your voice on a voice recorder."

While Goldgell's under strict contract not to give away how he fares in "Restaurant Express," it's safe to say he's made it to week 2.

Tune in to watch Goldgell compete next week on the Food Network's "Restaurant Express" on Sunday at 9 p.m.


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