Around Columbia, the Italian restaurant Campo may be known more for its drink specials than its menu, but the Morningside mainstay now has a new claim to fame courtesy of the Food Network. The eatery’s executive chef David Rotter was a contestant on tonight’s 10 p.m. season premiere of the reality series Chopped and placed second in the culinary battle royale.

The judges were consistently impressed with Rotter’s creativity, but ultimately, it was not enough to reward him with the episode’s $10,000 grand prize.

In a pool of three other chefs who made repeated sanitary violations and left unwanted seeds in dishes, Rotter, who described himself as “cocky” and claimed to be “waiting for the judges to just hand over the money,” skated to the final round as the judges eliminated one chef after each of three courses: appetizer, entrée, and desert.

For each round, the chefs had to craft a dish around three ingredients that aren’t typically associated with one another. For their appetizers, that meant sea beans, ginger ale, and pork tenderloin. Rotter’s ginger ale-battered pork tenderloin shocked and delighted most of the judges, but he ultimately lost in the final round as the other finalist, Jason Zukas of Bocca Fina in Queens, showed consistent improvement with each course while Rotter faded.

The episode, titled “Salty Veggies & Heated Battles,” will repeat at 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, and for those still on campus, Rotter is celebrating by offering $4 beers, $5 well drinks, and $8 bar-menu items at Campo throughout the evening.

Chopped airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on the Food Network. Campo is located at 2888 Broadway between 112th St. and 113th St. Bocca Fina is located at 10215 Metropolitan Ave. at Continental Ave. in Queens.