ISU Dining has hired a new Knoll chef, Anastasios Kyprianos, also known as Tasos. 

Kyprianos will be working at the Knoll as their newest chef, preparing food for many functions led by President Steven Leath.    

“[We serve] donors, ambassadors, senators’ private dinners, the things that fund scholarships and programs,” Kyprianos said. 

Kyprianos began working as a university chef at Oakland University. He then moved to Simpson College to work as their executive chef and is now at Iowa State as the chef at the Knoll.

Kyprianos, who likes to cook with French-Mediterranean flair, said he hopes to bring his favorite type of cooking to Iowa State.

“Adding chefs from different backgrounds helps us be better and in turn helps our students have a better experience,” said Brittney Rutherford, marketing coordinator for ISU Dining. “Everyone comes from somewhere different and with a diverse staff we are better able to meet the needs of all our students.”

ISU Dining tries to create the best atmosphere for all by hiring many types of chefs with different strengths that look to benefit different types of students, said Nancy Keller, director of ISU Dining. 

“We are able to match people with the position,” Keller said. “[Kyprianos] comes to us as someone with very well-rounded experience which will be beneficial to us, because when he is not working with the president, he will be able to benefit us in other ways.” 

ISU Dining prides itself as a team to offer the best experiences to students, Rutherford said. 

“A lot of teamwork goes on here in order to pull off big events. Not just one entity of ISU dining can do that,” Rutherford said. “We are all ISU dining and we are all in this together to serve students.” 

Kyprianos said he hopes to add to the ISU team effort by bringing his experience to the table. 

He said he eventually wants to help Iowa State reach the next level and hopes to create menus, help develop new recipes, meet and work with the whole dining team and help with staff training. 

Kyprianos said he values the experience he has gained throughout his cooking career and hopes to continue to advance his culinary career at Iowa State. 

“It’s tough and I loved it. I will always keep Simpson college in my heart, but I welcome the next opportunity here at Iowa State,” Kyprianos said. “It’s the big leagues. Iowa State is a large institution known nationwide [with] nice events and more exposure.”  

Kyprianos said his favorite part about being a chef is seeing people’s satisfaction after a job well done.