Russ Bodner
Over a decade ago, Russ Bodner left St. Louis to attend Indiana University and the French Culinary Institute in NYC. It wasn’t long before he found himself in the Michelin-starred kitchen of Anthos, the haute Greek restaurant helmed by Michael Psilakis and Donatella Arpaia. Russ eventually left the concrete jungle for greener pastures, heading south to Alabama to work with chef Rob McDaniel at SpringHouse as the sous chef, a restaurant specializing in “Progressive Southern” fare, before becoming the executive chef of Kowaliga. It was in
Alabama that Russ honed his unique blend of fine Southern comfort food with a global influence, something we can all thank him for. A stint in the snowy mountains of Aspen followed by a series of pop-up dinners across the country, Russ has finally made the long journey back to St. Louis, where he was the opening Chef de Cuisine of Randolfis in University City before moving to work for Chef Gerard Craft at Taste in the Central West End. Currently, he is working with Back 40 Birmingham to bring the first brewery with on-premise food to Birmingham.
