He was 39.

In 2006 he bought the New Jersey restaurant, Campania, in Fair Lawn.

He was self-taught chef. He had worked for Gallagher's Steakhouse chain for many years. He became the executive chef.

A friend described him as being always very creative and upbeat, and having an infectious smile and a way of making you feel at home.

He leaves behind his wife and three sons, ages 9, 11, and 13.


Below is his obit. posted by Vander May, Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, Inc.

Joseph A. Cerniglia, age 39 of Pompton Plains, died suddenly and unexpectedly on Friday, September 24, 2010.

‘Joey' was raised in the Packanack Lake section of Wayne and graduated from Wayne Valley High School in 1989.

One of his earliest endeavors was working at the Outback Steakhouse in Wayne. It was there that he met his wife, Melissa De Vries, and their romance turned to marriage in 1996.

Joey continued in the restaurant business with Gallagher's Steak House in New York City. He was active with their franchising operations and travelled to Tokyo, San Francisco, Colorado and Las Vegas. After ten years with Gallagher's, Joey opened his own restaurant in Fairlawn called "Campania" where he was the chef and owner. He loved the restaurant business, food, cooking, and the wonderful people with which he worked over the years. He was honored to have his restaurant featured on an episode of "Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares" and the television experience was thrilling for him. He was a guest chef on the morning news show "Fox & Friends" on several occasions and winner of Chef Central's Ultimate Chef Bergen County competition. He was an exciting guy, charismatic, and fun to be around. He was a talented musician, playing the guitar, and would sometimes ‘jam' at the restaurant with his staff.

On one occasion, when Joey was commuting into New York, he was passing through the Port Authority Bus Terminal when he saw a TV crew gathered around a large, burly guy at an arm-wrestling table. The TV crew was featuring a champion arm-wrestler and challenging anyone to have a ‘go' with him. Well, Joey sat down at the table to give it a try, and he beat the guy! When the ‘champion' demanded a rematch, Joey sat down and beat him again! He was a natural and there really wasn't much that he couldn't do well.

Joey's large family was at the heart of his life. His wife Melissa was the love of his life and his children meant the world to him. His three boys: Evan, Michael and Nicholas meant everything to him and were his pride and joy – he loved them so much that words simply can't describe. He was very close to all of his nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters, and loved being with them all. His parents were especially important to him and Joey loved to cook with his mom - she inspired him to make the most of his dreams.

Joey is survived by his loving wife Melissa (nee De Vries) of Pompton Plains, his three wonderful sons; Evan, Michael and Nicholas of Pompton Plains, his best friend and loving mother Patricia Hansen, his brother Kyle Hansen of Wayne, his sister Danielle (Cerniglia) Wynn and her husband Kevin of Verona. His father Joseph Cerniglia and his wife Susan of Ridgefield Park, sisters Nicole Cerniglia of Edgewater, Jolene Cerniglia of Ridgefield Park, his brother Doug Cerniglia of Ridgefield Park, loving Grandmother Rachel Basilone of Barnegat, and his sister-in-law; Jessica Slider and her husband George of Wayne, as well as his six nieces; Kayla, Lexi, Brianna, and Lyndsay Slider all of Wayne, and Olivia and Nicolette Wynn of Verona along with countless loving friends.






Cause of death: suicide, jumped from the George Washington Bridge into the Hudson River