Le Jeune Chef Restaurant
Lifelong Education Center, Rm. B107 · For reservations phone (570) 320-CHEF or (570) 320-2433
Visiting Chef
* This biography was accurate at the time of the chef's appearance on campus. (March 27, 1999)
Russel Bry
Vice President & Executive Chef
Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises Inc.
Chicago, IL
Often behind the scenes creating in the kitchen, Russell Bry is a major force in Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc. (LEYE). As Executive Chef/Partner, Bry works in the company's corporate and restaurant kitchens to develop the innovative food concepts which have made LEYE one of the nation's leading independent restaurant groups.
Bry's most recent project was to bring a unique Italian concept to Oak Brook. The creation became Antico Posto, "the Old Spot," which showcases Bry's passion for Italian cooking, simple preparation using authentic, seasonal ingredients. The restaurant also has a strong focus on wine, with 24 wines by the glass. In preparation for Antico Posto, Executive Chef and Vice President Russell Bry took five trips to Italy, where his most memorable meal was served at a four-table, family-owned restaurant in Florence. "Everyone in Italy-from the poor to the rich-has a passion for good food and wine. Their preparations are fresh and simple, but the results are spectacular," says Bry, who has always wanted to create a true Italian restaurant and is carrying out that dream with Antico Posto.
Chicago, Illinois resident and father of four, Russell is a Chicago native who started in the food industry at age 12 as a dishwasher. Throughout his teens he worked as a cook in a wide range of restaurant kitchens. Prior to his work at LEYE, Bry's culinary credentials include studies at Triton College's Food Service Program, the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Restaurant Byron, Tango, Bastille, George's and Sweetwater.
Since joining LEYE in 1985, Bry has become instrumental in developing food concepts and menus for many of the company's more recent restaurants. One area in which he has taken a particular interest is the creation of dishes that are low in fat as well as exciting to the taste buds.