His wife said it’s his passion.

His mother said it runs in his blood, and she can’t imagine him doing anything else.

And one of his sisters said he’s the best at what he does because he is a perfectionist, and he works hard to get what he wants.

This May will mark the second anniversary of New Iberia native Derek Weisz as the executive chef of Mr. Lester’s Steakhouse at Cypress Bayou Casino and Hotel in Charenton. 

He said his passion for cooking came from his grandmother, the late Velta Freeman, who was always busy cooking lunch for the ever growing Freeman family.

“I had a lot of cousins growing up, about 40, and I was amazed at how she just enjoyed cooking something different, day after day. It was like a challenge that she really enjoyed,” Weisz said.

“I guess that’s where it bit me — the passion of cooking.”

The New Iberia Senior High graduate took his love for food to Baton Rouge after graduating in 2008 and pursued a track to the kitchen at the Louisiana Culinary Institute, where he graduated in December of 2011 with an Associate of Occupational Studies in Culinary Arts degree, with a concentration in advanced culinary arts. 

At Mr. Lester’s, Weisz manages the kitchen staff, creates nightly specials, orders and manages food inventory, and also schedules employees.

Prior to his gig at Cypress Bayou Casino, Weisz worked as executive chef at Hook and Boil in Broussard and Cafe Des Amis in New Iberia.

He also worked as a manager and boiler at Little Lobsters, in the family business as a butcher in the meat department at Fremin’s Food and Furniture and as a boiler at Sandy’s Place, all in New Iberia. 

He has earned certification with the National Restaurant Association’s (NRA) Restaurant Pro-Management ServSafe Sanitation Certificate, and the National Restaurant Association’s Certificate of Completion in Foodservice Management. 

Weisz said he is having fun working at Mr. Lester’s Steakhouse and enjoys the menu freedom he has.

“My job is never the same. And I love that. I really enjoy creating nightly specials, like a seasonal fish. My sushi is also a big hit. I did not have this creativity at the other jobs I’ve had,” he said. 

“For the most part, I don’t measure anything when I’m cooking. Recipes come off the top

of my head. And like most chefs, I’m constantly tasting as I go.”

He loves to cook anything Cajun or Creole, and his favorite dishes to cook are gumbo, jambalaya and stews.

The 29-year-old also is the father of two children, a daughter, Gracelynn, and a son, Hayes.

He is married to the former Kali Bourgeois, who said her husband is an amazing chef who hardly ever uses a cookbook, other than for a quick check of something — like a resource.

“My favorite dishes of his are his meatball stew, his chicken and sausage gumbo and his chicken parmesan. Not a day goes by that I don’t say to myself how lucky I am that I married an incredible cook,” she said.

Alison Weisz said her son Derek gets his penchant for cooking from their entire family. 

“We all love to eat, and we all love to cook,” she said. 

“I love his chicken and sausage gumbo, because frankly, it’s better than mine,” she joked.

Asked if she thought Derek would grow up to be a chef, she said she was baffled when he announced his plans to enter the culinary institute.

“At first, I didn’t think he was serious,” she said. “I thought he would enter some sort of sports career because he loved baseball so much.”

“But now, looking back, I don’t think he would be happier doing anything else,” Alison said.

 

“I guess that’s where it bit me — the passion of cooking.”         

— Derrick Weisz