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Billy Trudsoe, a chef in the Lake George area for more than 20 years before relocating to Florida, is among the competitors on the Fox reality series "Hell's Kitchen," premiering Sept. 29.

Chef Brayden Bennison, left, gets pointers from judge Harold Qualters during the 2019 Colonie Senior Service Centers' Chefs in Motion culinary competition. This year's event will be held Sept. 19 at Beltrone Living Center in Colonie.

Chowder lovers thronged the 2019 Troy ChowderFest. This year's festival will be held Oct. 9 in downtown Troy.

Each fall Russel Sage College's Opalka Gallery hosts a beer garden on Friday nights, shown above in September 2021. This year, there will be two at the gallery in Albany and one on Sage's Troy campus.

In restaurant news this morning:

Colonie Senior Service Centers’ Chefs in Motion Culinary Competition will be held 5:30 to 8 p.m. Monday, Sept, 19, at Beltrone Living Center, 6 Winners Circle, Colonie. Participating  chefs will be will be provided with locally sourced products and seasonal produce and tasked with creating a signature soup, salad or entree with at least 75 percent local ingredients. Judges will score and pick a winner based on creativity, taste, appearance and use of locally sourced ingredients. Attendees may sample all of the prepared dishes and vote for a People’s Choice Award. Sampling will be available from Sabba Vineyards in Old Chatham, Meadowdale Winery in Altamont, Rare Form Brewing in Troy, Nothing Bundt Cakes and SeasonInn. There will a silent auction and live music. Proceeds benefit Colonie Senior Service Centers' transportation services. Tickets are $65 ($30 for younger than 35 and 60 or older). Call 518-459-2857 ext. 305 or buy online.

The chef Billy Trudsoe, who spent more than 20 years in Lake George-area kitchens, including as the executive chef of The Algonquin, Chateau on the Lake and Blue Water Manor, all in Bolton Landing, will be among the contestants on the upcoming season of the Fox series "Hell's Kitchen," featuring chef-competitors being tormented by shouty celeb kitchen tyrant Gordon Ramsay. It airs at 8 p.m. Thursdays starting Sept. 29. Although the show's page on the Fox website hasn't been updated to reflect the format of the new season, other sources indicate it will feature teams of chefs in their 20s and 40s competing to win the head-chef job at a Ramsay-owned restaurant in New Jersey. Trudsoe and his wife, Ivana, were the subjects of a Times Union story about their experiences on a European vacation in March 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic was shutting down the world. Billy Trudsoe was most recently head chef at a restaurant in Melbourne Beach, Fla., where the couple moved in 2021.

The 16th annual Downtown Troy ChowderFest will be held starting at noon Sunday, Oct. 9, in downtown Troy. In a format change from past years, participating restaurants and other providers will serve from stations in front of their business, while those from outside the downtown perimeter will serve in partnership with a downtown business. Chowder will cost $2 for each 4-ounce sample. All sales will be a la carte at individual stations; there will be no tickets or advance-purchase option. The chowderfest page on the website of the event's sponsor, the Downtown Troy Business Improvement District, does not yet include a list of providers, but about 20 participants are expected, according to the BID.

Russell Sage College's Opalka Gallery is bringing back its Friday-night series of pop-up beer gardens. The first two, on Sept. 16 and 23, will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. outside the Opalka Gallery on the college's Albany campus at 140 New Scotland Ave; on Sept. 30, it will be in Sage Park on RSC's Troy campus (Congress Street between First and Second streets) during the same hours. There will be different food, beer and live music each week. Full details are on the event's website. Admission is free, but a $10 donation is requested. Attendees are encouraged to bring a folding chair.

Steve Barnes has worked at the Times Union since 1996, served as arts editor for six years, and since 2005 has been a senior writer. He generally covers restaurants, food and the arts, and is the Times Union's restaurant columnist and theater critic. Steve was also a journalism instructor at the University at Albany for 12 years. You can reach him at sbarnes@timesunion.com or 518-454-5489.