Nearly two decades ago, Chef Jeff Weiss embarked on a culinary career focusing on seasonal, sustainable, and simple recipes that stay true to their roots and, most importantly, taste fantastic. His passion for celebrating the natural flavors of ingredients, and the global recipes that feature them, developed during his experiences cooking in the kitchens of James Beard and Michelin award-winning chefs José Andrés and April Bloomfield, as well as in the Spanish kitchens of chefs Adolfo Muñoz and Dani García. Weiss' distinguished international experience originated with being awarded the prestigious ICEX culinary scholarship in 2009—allowing him to live in Spain, learn the regional cuisines, and cook in the kitchens of top Spanish chefs. His James Beard-nominated and Gourmand World Cookbook Award winning book, Charcutería: The Soul of Spain, chronicles his time working in Spain and learning the various culinary and charcuterie styles of the Iberian Peninsula. Weiss has since held executive chef positions and consulted on culinary projects for restaurants, hotels, and resorts across the country, alongside settling into the Las Vegas area to create Valencian Gold. Valencian Gold showcased Chef Weiss’s passion to make “paella for the people” and introduced a fun and exciting Spanish experience outside the world of fine dining. Featuring a first-of-its-kind in the US dining model of wood-fired paellas cooked to order, served alongside unique and fun cocktails, tapas, and a Dali-inspired wonderland of restaurant design, Valencian Gold quickly soared to one of Las Vegas’s most talked-about and awarded dining experiences—a remarkable feat for an off-strip restaurant.Throughout and after the COVID crisis until December 2023, the Valencian Gold team also provided meals for the Las Vegas community through the Delivering with Dignity program. Since its inception, the program delivered almost 1,000,000 meals to the Las Vegas area’s most vulnerable and high-risk families, with over 400,000 of those meals coming directly from the kitchens and team at Valencian Gold.Career Highlights:- James Beard Nominee: Charcutería: The Soul of Spain - Gourmand World Cookbook Award: Charcutería: The Soul of Spain - The Art of Eating Short List Nominee - Guest Author: Saveur Magazine- Featured chef/speaker: Hallmark Channel, The James Beard House, FoodTV, Pebble Beach Food & Wine, Heritage Fire, Cochon555, USA Today Wine & Food Experience, Monterey Chef Representative- Edible Magazine Food Hero