Executive chef turned culinary educator — refined, ingredient-driven plates, and the next generation of cooks trained at the Iowa Culinary Institute.
Honored for contributions to the state's culinary industry.
First-ever recipient, funding an exchange placement in France during his DMACC training.
Chef instructor at DMACC's Iowa Culinary Institute, shaping the program he graduated from.
“Technique is the discipline.Ingredients are the point.Everything on the plate earns its place.”
Andrew Havlovic's cooking is built on precision plating and confident, seasonal flavor combinations — a style shaped by more than a decade running kitchens across the country and abroad before returning home to Iowa. Every dish is composed with the same standard he now asks of his students: clean technique, honest ingredients, and nothing on the plate without a reason.
Graduated from the Des Moines Area Community College Culinary Arts program and became the first-ever recipient of the Marge Anderson French Chef Exchange Scholarship, funding a formative stage in France.
Led kitchens as Executive Chef across Minnesota, Maryland, Arizona, and the British Virgin Islands — from refined tasting menus to high-volume resort dining.
Recognized for excellence in the state's culinary industry.
Ran the kitchen at RōCA in Des Moines, bringing composed, technique-forward plates to a hometown audience.
Returned to his alma mater to teach and mentor student chefs, passing on the standards learned across two decades of professional kitchens.
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Since returning to the Iowa Culinary Institute in 2024, Chef Havlovic teaches and mentors student chefs in the same program he graduated from in 2006 — hands-on kitchen sessions, guest-dinner preparations, and technique instruction rooted in two decades of professional experience.
His classroom philosophy mirrors his kitchen standard: precision first, then flavor, then the confidence to make it your own.
For collaborations, guest chef dinners, or culinary demonstrations, reach out directly.