In Texas, at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa, scale does not come at the expense of quality—nor does it get in the way of creativity.
Instead, it’s treated like mise en place: everything in its place, everyone with a role, every detail accounted for. Across nine restaurants, sprawling banquet spaces, and more than 1.3 million annual covers, the operation runs with the precision of a well-built kitchen and the energy of a team that loves to cook.
The resort is one of the largest culinary operations in the brand. The numbers alone are staggering. At peak season, the culinary team grows to nearly 190, including stewarding and purchasing, working across multiple outlets, pop-ups, and catering programs. They manage more than 150 vendor relationships, produce 12,000 desserts and pastries weekly, and bake 8,000 savory breads by hand. In a single year, they move through 196,000 pounds of poultry, 120,000 pounds of seafood, and over 160,000 pounds of beef.
And yet, nothing feels mass-produced. Every dish, ingredient, and guest interaction is approached with the kind of care that makes the scale feel invisible.
At the center of it all is Executive Chef Brian Sundeen.
Leadership That Starts on the Line
Sundeen does not lead from an office. He leads from the line, in the garden, behind the pass, and beside his team. He’s the kind of chef who will jump into dish-up for a 1,000-person banquet, help expedite lunch at the pool during a 3,000-cover day, and taste pizza dough variations on a quiet Tuesday morning. He moves through the operation like a coach who understands both the strategy and the grind. He watches closely. He steps in to help when needed. He looks for ways to make the team better without stepping into the spotlight himself. His presence carries weight without needing to announce itself.
Executive Chef Brian Sundeen (left), Senior Banquet Chef Darren Noel (center), and Executive Sous Chef Matthew Boring (right) are part of the seasoned team that helps guide one of the brand’s largest culinary operations at JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country.
Sundeen’s resume is impressive. He is trained in both savory and pastry. He opened international properties, worked under Michelin-starred chefs, and spent decades in the Ritz-Carlton system before joining the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country in 2018. But what defines him now isn’t what’s on paper; it’s what his team says about him and how he shows up for them every day.
“I don’t want this to be my food,” says Sundeen. “I want my chefs to bring their own ideas. I want them to be proud of what’s on the plate and to know they had a hand in creating it.”
That philosophy has taken root across the resort. At the annual golf tournament dinner, where more than 2,000 guests are served from over a dozen action stations, it’s the sous chefs and line cooks who design the menus. At FIAMMÉ, a new pizza concept on property, the outlet chef started making his own mozzarella, his own pickled peppers, and sourcing local sausage to complement the house-made sourdough crust that the pastry team supplies.
None of that was required. All of it was supported.
“[Sundeen] doesn’t micromanage,” says Executive Pastry Chef Marcos Gonzalez. “He gives feedback when needed, but he trusts us to do the work. That makes a big difference at a place this size.”
Sundeen’s trust is paired with steady support. He manages the financials and vendor relationships so his chefs can focus on product, people, and execution. He advocates for equipment upgrades and expansion projects. He builds schedules to ensure his team takes their days off, even during peak periods.
“I came up in kitchens where working seven days a week was expected,” says Sundeen. “But that burns people out. I want my chefs to be here five, ten, fifteen years. That only happens if you respect their lives outside of work.”
That mindset shows. Turnover is low. Collaboration runs deep. The kitchen operates with the kind of cohesion that only comes from time, trust, and a leader who believes in both.
Sundeen is quick to credit the team. The team, just as quickly, credits him.
Scratch-Made Everything
On any given day, the resort’s pastry team rolls more than 1,000 burger buns by hand. They also laminate croissants, portion desserts, mix pizza dough from a sourdough starter, and batch multiple flavors of house-made ice cream.
“We make all the savory breads and breakfast pastries,” says Gonzalez, who has been with the resort for nearly a decade. “We do the sorbets and chocolates, too. It’s intense, but that’s what makes it rewarding.”
Gonzalez leads a 22-person team that operates in shifts. There’s a 4 a.m. crew, a 6 a.m. crew, and an 8 a.m. crew, all working in sync to support the resort’s culinary operations. His focus is on developing people, maintaining high standards, and making sure pastry runs with steady, day-to-day consistency.
At FIAMMÉ (left), the dough is made fresh daily by the pastry team, led by Executive Pastry Chef Marcos Gonzalez. It’s one of many examples of how the resort maintains craft and care across a large-scale operation.
Executive Pastry Chef Marcos Gonzalez“Fresh ingredients, seasonal thinking, and texture,” he says. “I want layered flavors and desserts that feel intentional. I don’t need everything to be fussy. But it should never be boring.”
Pastry also supports the resort’s growing pop-up program. The team recently launched an ice cream cart, added fire-cooked desserts for outdoor dinners, and introduced specialty brioche buns for barbecue events. It’s high volume with high standards.
“I know we’re doing something right when I’m not here and the rack of desserts still looks exactly how it should,” says Gonzalez. “That’s the goal: Build a team so strong it doesn’t need you to hover.”
Where Every Outlet Has a Voice
Across the resort’s nine restaurants, no two kitchens operate exactly the same. Each one has its own identity, its own rhythm, and a chef who brings that outlet to life. Sundeen gives them room to shape their menus to match both the concept and the guests they serve.
18 Oaks
Cibolo Moon
Crooked Branch
Fiamme
High Velocity“I want each chef to take ownership of their outlet,” he says. “When they believe in what they’re making, the guest feels it.”
At 18 Oaks, the resort’s upscale steakhouse, the focus is on prime and wagyu cuts, flown-in seafood, and raw bar service. The approach is refined and regional. Specials often include quail, bison, or game from nearby ranches, paired with an award-winning wine list.
Crooked Branch, a Japanese-inspired concept, reflects the influence of one chef’s background in Southern California sushi kitchens. The menu includes soba noodle salads, dumplings, and tataki, all prepped with precision and plated with restraint. It’s become one of the highest-rated outlets on property.
Cibolo Moon, the resort’s flagship restaurant, anchors the day with breakfast, lunch, and dinner service, moving through more than 275,000 covers annually. The menu blends classic Southern comfort with regional Texan influence—think brisket hash, chilaquiles, and house-made biscuits in the morning, followed by smoked meats, street tacos, and seasonal entrées at night. The scale is immense, but the execution stays focused.
At High Velocity, the sports bar, creativity shows up in unexpected places. The chef there sources custom hot dogs from a local sausage maker, slow roasts porchetta for sandwiches, and works with the pastry team to deliver buns that match the ambition of what’s in between.
The spa café, Replenish, focuses on wellness-driven dishes. The kitchen makes vegan poke bowls, curry-roasted vegetables, and cold-pressed juices. Most diners arrive after a massage or yoga class, and the food reflects that reset.
Even the poolside restaurant, Rivertop, which does enormous volume, has a tailored feel. Everything is made to order, including the burgers, wraps, and salads. The chef who runs it also manages the food trailer, which rotates seasonal menus from tacos to grain bowls to grilled cheese and soup in the winter.
“There’s a lot of cross-pollination,” Sundeen says. “If something doesn’t work in one outlet, it might fit perfectly in another. We’re always sharing and refining.”
Banquets at Volume and Velocity
The banquet program at the resort accounts for nearly two-thirds of the food and beverage volume. But it doesn’t feel like a separate engine. Instead, it’s an extension of the property’s culinary mindset.
The banquet team regularly executes large-scale events, from high-volume plated service to dynamic station-style dinners shaped by the resort’s outlet chefs.
At a recent culinary retreat, the banquet team built a backyard-style dinner with live-fire stations, local music, and custom menus that pulled in flavors from each restaurant on property. Line cooks worked alongside sous chefs to plate and serve, giving guests a feel for the talent behind the scenes.
The banquet kitchen recently received an equipment upgrade to help support these creative touches: custom chafing dishes, new heat lamps, and mobile grills that allow for live-fire cooking inside or outside, regardless of weather.
“Being able to serve with that kind of flexibility changes everything,” says Sundeen. “It lets us keep the quality high, even when the numbers are intense.”
Luxury Through Ingredients
The resort’s sourcing strategy mirrors its culinary philosophy: Stay true to the product, but elevate where it counts.
The culinary garden is a living example. Just steps from the kitchen, it features more than 30 varieties of tomatoes, 20 types of peppers, orchard fruits, heirloom vegetables, and specialty herbs. Ingredients pulled from the garden show up in pop-up dinners, cooking classes, and seasonal specials across the resort.
“Sometimes it’s just a garnish or a finishing oil,” says Sundeen, “but when the cook who picked that tomato is the one plating it, the food hits differently. That connection matters.”
The garden also serves as a teaching tool. Chefs lead guest-facing classes on tortilla-making, dumpling-folding, and salsa preparation, using produce harvested that same morning. “It reminds people that food doesn’t start in a kitchen,” Sundeen says. “It starts in the soil.”
This mindset extends into the beverage program, where luxury comes through curated sourcing and outlet-specific identity. Director of Food and Beverage Sebastian Mena has worked closely with the culinary team to ensure each concept has its own story to tell through drinks.
Director of F&B Sebastian Mena
At Crooked Branch, that story is whiskey. At Replenish, it’s
cold-pressed juices and low-ABV cocktails with botanical infusions. At 18 Oaks, it’s wine—lots of it, selected with care and presented with context.
“We don’t just want an impressive list,” says Mena. “We want one that feels connected to the menu, service, and setting. Every outlet should have its own signature—something you remember.”
That approach has led to private barrel selections of Weller Antique 107 and Buffalo Trace. It also inspired a custom Kölsch developed in partnership with Pinthouse in Austin, brewed to reflect the German heritage of the region. And the wine list at 18 Oaks has been recognized by an industry authority for its depth and quality.
“We look for ways to surprise people,” says Mena. “Maybe it’s a bourbon they can’t get anywhere else, or a beer brewed just for this resort. That kind of detail signals to the guest that this experience is theirs. Not a copy. Not a template.”
A Foundation for What’s Next
As the resort heads into a major room renovation, Sundeen and his team are already thinking about how to match that investment with elevated culinary experiences. It will be a chance to refine, not reinvent.
“We’re not overhauling anything,” he says. “We’re tuning the engine. We’re looking at where we can be even sharper, more thoughtful, and more connected to the guest.”
The foundation is already strong. And the culture continues to attract chefs who want to stay, grow, and lead.
“I know we’re big,” says Sundeen. “But it doesn’t feel corporate. It feels like a kitchen. And the people in it care deeply about what they do.”
