Joseph Ogrodnek’s appetite for the culinary arts first manifested in high school. Rather than hitting the stacks after class, he began working for Chef Stuart Pellegrino in downtown Philly.
After his first foray in a professional kitchen, Ogrodnek never looked back. Upon completing a degree at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, and an externship at Danny Meyer’s Union Square café, Ogrodnek returned to Philly to team up again with Pellegrino. But New York City had made an impression up him, and he soon returned to work under Alain Ducasse at the Essex House.
It was here that Ogrodnek reconnected with his former classmate, Walker Stern, building the friendship that would later lead to a business partnership. The two remained in touch when both left Essex to pursue new opportunities, Stern taking over the kitchen at Brooklyn’s Vanderbilt and Ogrodnek moving to Gramercy Tavern.
The idea for Battersby slowly developed while Ogrodnek worked as executive chef of Anella in Greenpoint. Assembling a small budget, investors, and a business plan, he and Stern built Battersby from the ground up with the help of family and friends. Since their opening in 2011, the duo has excited critics and diners alike and earned Ogrodnek a 2013 StarChefs Rising Star Chef Award.
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