Chef Joe: Iowa Bred, European Made, Home Grown

January 1, 2026

By Anna Toot

What do the Prime Minister of France, tourists visiting San Francisco’s famous Fisherman’s Wharf, customers at the Iowa State Fair Cluck ‘N’ Coop stand and 10,000 students in the Ankeny Community School District (ACSD) 
have in common? Chef Joe. 

Rather, they have all eaten a dish prepared by Joe Weisz, who's affectionately known as Chef Joe. As the executive chef at ACSD, he's famous for turning simple ingredients into memorable meals. 

The 43-year-old has a laundry list of accomplishments: French- and Italian-trained gourmet chef, restaurateur, cruise ship chef, sushi master, pâtissier and micro farmer. The list goes on. 

Culinary Experience Across the Atlantic and Back

Weisz traces his success to his Iowa beginnings. A Johnston native, his mother’s home-cooked meals were so good that his family only dined out twice a year.

“My mom is a phenomenal cook and had fresh meals on the table for us every day. That’s where my passion for homemade meals and fresh cuisine began,” Weisz says. 

After briefly pursuing education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Weisz enrolled in culinary school in Denver, Colorado, where he learned menu development, knife skills, meat preparation and more. He also had his first of many celebrity encounters, rubbing elbows with Julia Child’s pastry chef.

From there, he took his talents to Asti, Italy, and Marseille, France. In Marseille, he gained an even deeper appreciation for fresh produce, seafood and meat.

“Every morning, we traveled to the Old Port of Marseille for the fresh-caught fish and veggies we were cooking with for the day. In the evening, I staged at a restaurant inside the Les Bords De Mer Hotel, where we cooked for the Prime Minister of France, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, every Friday night.”

Once he perfected his fine dining skills in Europe, Weisz bounced from Denver to Hawaii to San Francisco. There, he prepared high-end cuisine, learned the art of sushi and improved his pastry skills while working 18-hour days on Fisherman’s Wharf. 

The jobs were exciting and glamorous, but something was calling Weisz and his wife, Julie, back to Iowa: starting a family.

Food With a Local Touch

In 2009, the couple moved to an acreage outside of Panora, where Weisz nurtured his passion for the outdoors through gardening, raising beef and poultry, fishing and the occasional four-wheel ride. Four kids later, he proudly bears the title of “dad” alongside his other accolades. 

After years of adventure, a catering gig in Ames, and owning and operating P.J.’s Diner in Panora, Weisz found his calling in education. He started as executive chef for the Dallas Center-Grimes School District and later joined ACSD.

“Entering this world felt like a full-circle moment for me. My first idea of what I wanted in life was to be an educator, and now I have been handed the opportunity to be a chef and an educator. That really spoke to me.”

In Ankeny, Weisz manages 12 kitchens, providing food for 18 schools, and runs the district’s catering business. His menu development is creative, incorporating fresh ingredients and scratch- and batch-cooking.

“We avoid canned or frozen food, and we don’t add a lot of sugar and salt. Instead, we focus on adding high-quality flavors and seasonings. You would be shocked by the kids’ favorite dishes — for example, they can’t get enough roasted cauliflower.”

By incorporating “Try it Thursdays,” students can sample foods they may not have eaten before. Recently, Center Grove Orchard in Cambridge sent enough hand-picked apples for every student in the district. 

“Most people have had an apple before. But most kids eat apple slices instead of the whole apple in their hand. Even though it seems simple, inspiring them to try new things and learn more about the food they eat is incredibly rewarding.”

Weisz sources ingredients from American vendors, with less than 5% of ACSD’s food purchased from international distributors. Much of it comes straight from Iowa businesses. 

By building healthy habits for students, Weisz’s meals introduce kindergarteners to new foods that will hopefully stay with them throughout adulthood. 

“We’re focused on incorporating nutritious foods into kids’ diets as soon as possible. When kids start eating fresh, homemade food in elementary school, it becomes part of their normal diet.” 

His love for healthy, fresh food makes his partnership with the Iowa Egg Council (IEC) a natural fit.

An Egg-cellent Partnership 

A diet that includes eggs is one of the easiest ways to eat healthy. Each egg has 6 grams of protein, is rich in healthy fats and contains vitamins and minerals essential for brain development and health. Eggs 
are also versatile in the kitchen.

“As a chef, one of the first things you learn is that there are 100 ways to cook an egg, according to an old French saying. I like to say, ‘Respect the egg.’” 

Promoting the benefits of eggs and egg products is a top priority for the IEC — an agricultural checkoff organization supported by Iowa poultry farmers. Iowa is an egg production hub, accounting for about 1 in 5 eggs consumed in the U.S. each year. 

The IEC asked Weisz to develop unique recipes for the organization’s flagship sales event: the Cluck ‘N’ Coop booth at the Iowa State Fair. 

“Most people know the Iowa Egg Council from our ‘free egg on a stick’ booth, but we wanted to create a booth that offers creative egg- and chicken-based recipes,” said Elycia VanVacter, director of health and education with North Central Poultry Association (NCPA), an IEC partner. “In the past couple of years, Chef Joe has taken the Cluck ‘N’ Coop booth to the next level.” 

Some of the recipes Weisz has developed include jalapeño popper egg salad, crab rangoons, hand-breaded chicken sandwiches and flavored egg skewers, many of which attract repeat customers.

Like all his accomplish-ments, Weisz approaches the Cluck ‘N’ Coop with tenacity and an appreciation for freshness and nutrition.

“Chef Joe has demonstrated a great deal of commitment to making Cluck ‘N’ Coop a success,” said Kevin Stiles, former CEO and executive director of NCPA and IEC and current agricultural consultant. “From organizing and setting up the trailer, to the menu planning, product procurement and staffing, Joe truly runs the business.”

The Future is Bright

Looking ahead, Weisz wants to continue nurturing the Ankeny community while educating students about the importance of quality food.

“I see myself retiring as the executive chef in Ankeny,” Weisz said. “My big picture is to continue in this role and be happy knowing that the generations of students I served were fed good food and provided a quality education that set them up for success in the future.”

As for what-ifs, Weisz said if he could start over again, he would be a farmer — not shocking given his love for the outdoors. 

But as history shows, if there’s anyone who can do it all in this lifetime, it’s Chef Joe.