DC Chef Wins Food Network's 'Chopped Champions'

Washington, D.C. chef Adam Greenberg just took home the top prize on the finale of Food Network's Chopped Champions -- and he did it with a pretty gross ingredient.

Greenberg, the executive chef at Barcelona Wine Bar & Restaurant on 14th Street NW, called the blue cheese lollipop "disgusting" on the show, but in the end he used it to make a winning dish on the finale.

The 36-year-old chef will get a prize of $50,000. He won his first "Chopped" competition back in February of 2015, and he came back for the "Chopped Champions" tournament to compete with 15 other winners from previous seasons.

"This is surreal. It’s one of those moments you just realize it’s going to kick in at some point on my drive home or some point," Greenberg said in an interview with Food Network after his win. "This is by far the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me. It’s incredible."

He made a blood clam ceviche in the first round, a ragu with blue cheese sauce in the second round, and then secured the victory with a white chocolate, raspberry and mandarin ice cream sundae in the final round.

Greenberg said that his wife Anna was his inspiration for competing, and when he was announced the winner, the judges surprised him by revealing that she was waiting backstage.

Greenberg's bio on the Barcelona website says that he began cooking at 18 years of age in Connecticut under a widely renowned chef. He's moved around a bit from Florida to New York City to his home of West Hartford, Conn., and currently his "role in the restaurant group has evolved into a regional position where he visits the other Barcelona restaurants and assists in training their kitchen staff."

Image via Food Network