Hell’s Kitchen

Billy Trudsoe was awaiting a flight in the lobby of Albany International Airport, scrolling through Facebook, when a sponsored ad caught his eye. “There was an application for ‘Hell’s Kitchen,’ so I filled it out,” he remembered. “When I got to the end — and this was during the era of masks — it read ‘Can we get a three-minute video of your personality?’ And I didn’t want to lose all this info, so I did it right there with my mask on.”

Four days later, producers of “Hell’s Kitchen,” a long- running FOX cooking competition reality show, called Trudsoe, who grew up in Chestertown, worked for years at restaurants throughout the Lake George region and attended SUNY Adirondack’s Culinary Arts program.

Nearly a year later, he appeared on “Hell’s Kitchen: Battle of the Ages” on FOX.

“‘Hell’s Kitchen’ is a very intense, adverse, insane environment,” Trudsoe said. “You just don’t know what to expect or when to expect anything. It’s hot, it’s grueling, it’s tiresome.”

Trudsoe has worked at restaurants that include The Algonquin, Iva and Audie’s Country Diner, Malone Golf Club, The Garrison, Chateau on the Lake and Blue Water Manor before moving to Florida in 2021.

“I’ve been following Gordon Ramsey for 20-plus years,” Trudsoe said. “Just to have him try my food and to get a chance to meet him; he’s like Michael Jordan, the culinary GOAT in my eyes.”

Trudsoe was eliminated after the fifth service on “Hell’s Kitchen,” but still called the experience a win.

“I got to meet some great contestants, teammates you grow relationships with,” he said. “There’s nothing like ‘Hell’s Kitchen,’ that’s for sure.”

Learn more about Billy Trudsoe by following his Instagram pages, @adkchef and @btruesmadflava.

Recipe For Success

Eileen Caliva’s business, Caliva Cookie Co., is deeply rooted in SUNY Adirondack, so it was a natural step for her to teach her craft out of the college’s Culinary Arts Center.

Caliva earned a degree from the college, participated in its StartUp ADK business incubation class and regularly uses what she learned in running her business. So when the college started offering Continuing Education classes in baking, Caliva knew it was a perfect fit.

“Teaching baking classes at SUNY Adirondack Culinary Center has a lot of advantages,” Caliva said. “The facility offers an efficient prep area for students and enough ovens, stoves, refrig- erators and kitchen equipment for baking and demonstration.” Perhaps sweetest of all for Caliva is how the biscotti baking classes strengthen her network. “It’s a great opportunity to retain customers and build relationships through positive interaction,” she said.

WHAT: SUNY Adirondack opened the kitchen doors of its Culinary Arts Center to the public by offering Continuing Education classes.

The benefits extend to her students, too.

“Baking classes are an excellent way to relax and improve your emotional well-being while learning new skills and having fun,” she said. “It can also be a great way to meet people with similar interests and make new friends.”

WHERE: SUNY Adirondack’s Culinary Arts Center, 14 Hudson Ave., Glens Falls

THE DETAILS: Continuing Education offers courses geared toward adult community members and a Summer Enrichment children’s culinary program out of the college’s Culinary Arts Center.