Russell has been cooking since he could reach the countertops of his grandma’s kitchen. He has always had a fascination and passion for cooking. For 10 years Russell served in the Navy as an Electronics Technician and traveled the world. Russell was able to enjoy all sorts of new cuisines. Once out of active duty, Russell attended culinary school at The Art Institute of Washington, DC. While in school, Russell worked for a large catering company in Bethesda, MD, he was a private chef for an influential family in Washington, DC, and during this time he launched my gourmet jelly business.
Once Russell graduated from school, he was fortunate to work with a Master Chef and a top Bariatric Surgeon in Maryland, on a line of frozen meals for the doctor’s bariatric patients. After that, Russell took the Executive Sous Chef position at a farm-to-table restaurant in Silver Spring, MD. The Daily Dish was a fantastic place to work for Russell. When his wife retired from the Navy, it was time to figure out where they wanted to end up, and Nashville won out. Once they moved here, Russell was able to join the banquets team of the Omni Resort Hotel. Opening a hotel was a great experience, and they produced fantastic food.
After training recruits in the Navy for his last four years and being a tutor during school, Russell knew that he wanted to be a teacher. Russell taught culinary arts at the college level for 6 years and at the high school level for 2. During that time, Russell attended Strayer University to get his MBA. Russell left teaching and went back to the kitchen. He was the Executive Chef at the Mount Pleasant Grille. He enjoyed being back in the grind, but he missed teaching. Now Russell is looking forward to teaching Culinary Arts at Nossi College of Art. What Russell brings to the table is experience in catering, restaurants, hotels, private chef, and in food manufacturing. Russell is looking forward to creating great food and teaching a few tricks of the trade.
