Meet Our Sommelier
Rhonda Russell
Chef Rhonda Russell is an Executive Chef of Wine Arts and Winemaker, owner of Taste Collection Cellars, and the only African American female to carry this title in the U.S. She works tirelessly to teach and educate food and wine lovers on unique flavor pairings and combinations.
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Chef Rhonda volunteers often at the Houston Food Bank and also teach children of all ages in the Houston, Texas area how to cook their own food using fresh, healthy and local ingredients. She is passionate on educating children on the love of good food.
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Born and raised in the deep food culture of Louisiana, it didn’t take long for Chef Rhonda Russell to discover her passion for food. Many of her best childhood memories revolve around food assisting with making mayhaw and muscadine wine absorbing every bit of knowledge from her grandmother’s kitchen- and dishes, lot of dishes.
With her advanced knowledge of food and wine, Chef Rhonda enjoys finding ways to bring out the superb taste in a wide array of food through colorful food combinations and inspired wine pairings. Her keen sense of taste brought her to become a winemaker and create her own wine collection- Taste Collection Cellars.
Chef Rhonda’s passion now is to educate and demystify both wine and the food that first sparked her imagination- Creole and Cajun cooking.
Chef Rhonda is a member of the world-renowned United States Personal Chefs Association, James Beard Foundation, and the International Wine Guild as a Certified Wine Sommelier and Executive Chef of Wine Arts. Food Network’s “Cooks vs Cons” – Contestant (Season 2, 2016)
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We are happy to have an esteemed Chef and Sommelier as a part of our team! Meet Rhonda during "Sommelier Thursdays" where you can taste carefully selected wine flights and ask about pairing suggestions with Trez menu items.
