Brand will guide Emma\u2019s hospitality operations, which include Supper, Sternewirth<\/a> and Larder<\/a>, along with future concepts.<\/p>\n \u201cReturning to Hotel Emma feels like coming back to the kitchen where it all began \u2014where we set out to prove that San Antonio could define its own standard of world-class hospitality through food, craft, and place,\u201d Brand said in a news release.<\/p>\n Brand served as chef, culinary director and director of culinary endeavors at Emma for nearly nine years. In 2023, he became director of culinary endeavors for Silver Ventures, Inc.<\/a>, which owns Pearl<\/a>, and, most recently, held the same position for Potluck Hospitality<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHotel Emma and Pearl have always been at the heart of this city\u2019s culinary identity, and as the destination continues to earn global recognition, it\u2019s a privilege to help lead what comes next,\u201d Brand said. \u201cMy focus is on honoring the producers, makers and teams who built this community, and on shaping thoughtful, consistent food and beverage experiences that reflect the soul of Hotel Emma across the Emma Hospitality Group.\u201d<\/p>\n Hotel Emma announced Brand\u2019s hiring on Wednesday following the recent departure of Emma\u2019s executive chef Geronimo Lopez<\/a>, who left on Jan. 15 to become the San Antonio Food Bank\u2019s vice president of culinary operations.<\/p>\n The hotel first opened in 2015, with Brand helming the kitchen. Over the next 10 years, Emma evolved into a world-class hotel,<\/a> winning multiple accolades. It is one of two AAA five-diamond properties <\/a>in Texas.<\/p>\n Under his leadership, Emma will evolve its culinary programming, centering on Supper. Brand also aims to develop the next generation of talent and cultivate a culture of collaboration and craft.<\/p>\n Emma CEO Jon Sakshaug welcomes Brand\u2019s return.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s rare to find a leader who has both the professional pedigree and the deep personal history with a place that John has,\u201d Sakshaug said in a news release. \u201cJohn helped lay the foundation that put Pearl on the map, and welcoming him back to Emma to guide our culinary vision truly feels like a full-circle moment. As we look ahead, I\u2019m excited to have his perspective, creativity, and leadership shaping what\u2019s next.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss. Say hello to John Brand, the longtime former chef…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":138998,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[26399,17955,30039,3718,58705,58706,3720,82,84,83,40947,58707,92,3028,3219],"class_list":["post-138997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-supper","tag-culinary","tag-geronimo-lopez","tag-hotel-emma","tag-john-brand","tag-larder","tag-michelin","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news","tag-silver-ventures","tag-sternewirth","tag-top-story","tag-typedaily","tag-wc-less-than-500"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Potluck-John-Brand-Image.webp.jpeg\")
Former Supper chef John Brand has been appointed Hotel Emma\u2019s new Vice President of Culinary. Credit: Image Courtesy \/ Potluck<\/p>\n