{"id":62463,"date":"2025-07-13T14:41:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-13T14:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/62463\/"},"modified":"2025-07-13T14:41:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T14:41:11","slug":"san-antonio-names-new-chef-ambassadors-to-promote-its-cuisine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/62463\/","title":{"rendered":"San Antonio names new chef ambassadors to promote its cuisine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hotel Emma<\/a> executive chef Geronimo Lopez <\/a>just snagged a dream assignment.<\/p>\n

For the next two years, he\u2019s been charged with promoting San Antonio as a major culinary destination.<\/p>\n

Lopez and five other local chefs have been selected as chef ambassadors to represent San Antonio as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy<\/a> at food festivals, media engagements and other culinary events.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel that San Antonio is in a moment right now,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cWe need to keep pushing the city as a culinary destination. I\u2019m excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joining Lopez as chef ambassadors are Jason Dady<\/a>, chef owner of the Jason Dady Restaurant Group<\/a>; Joel \u201cTatu\u201d Herrera, executive chef at Desert Spoon<\/a> and chef\/owner of Folklores Coffee House<\/a>; Lizzeth Martinez, chef\/owner of Naco Grayson<\/a>; Stephannie Beyers, chef\/owner of Eat Chingon<\/a>; and chef Ana Sofia Sada Cervantes, instructor at the Culinary institute of America<\/a> in San Antonio.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t think of anything locally, from a recognition point of view, that \u2018s meant more to my mission of pushing the food culture of San Antonio forward,\u201d said Dady, a James Beard-nominated restaurateur. \u201cI feel lucky and fortunate I get to carry the torch of all the chefs before me to shine light on the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"San Antonio chef Jason Dady poses for a portrait in the kitchen of his restaurant Roca & Martillo. Credit: Diego Medel \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

A selection committee comprised of the SanAntonio UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy Advisory Group and City of San Antonio staff evaluated chef ambassador proposals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ambassadors are responsible for representing San Antonio locally and internationally,\u201d said chef and selection committee member Johnny Hernandez. \u201cWe receive multiple invitations through the UNESCO network and we have several local events.\u201d<\/p>\n

A former instructor at CIA in San Antonio, Lopez has been mentoring local chefs for more than a decade. His proteges include Nicola Blaque<\/a>, a James Beard nominee and two-time San Antonio Chef of the Year, Jesse Kuykendall, <\/a>a former UNESCO chef ambassador<\/a>; and Aaron Juvera<\/a> of Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewery<\/a>, San Antonio\u2019s first chef certified through the Oyster Master Guild<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lopez applied to become a chef ambassador in April. He learned of his acceptance this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very happy because I know most of the people in the group,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re good friends of mine. I\u2019m looking forward to seeing what types of events we can create to bring more attention to the city.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"TatuJoel \u201cTatu\u201d Herrera of Desert Spoon and Folklores Coffee House. Credit: Nick Wagner \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

The previous chef ambassador cohort included Leo Davila, formerly of Stixs & Stone; Uyen Pham of CIA; Sofia Tejeda, formerly of Supper; Jaime Gonzalez of Carriqui; Juan Carlos Bazan of Cuishe Cocina Mexicana and Toro Kitchen + Bar; and John Tamez of Brackenridge High School.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A special presentation will be made in the fall to recognize the new chef ambassadors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to introduce the new cohort of chef ambassadors, who will play a vital role in promoting the vibrant culinary heritage of San Antonio,\u201d Colleen Swain, Director of the City of San Antonio World Heritage Office, said in a statement. \u201cTheir commitment to promoting San Antonio\u2019s culinary landscape, community involvement, and innovation embodies the spirit of our city\u2019s gastronomy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated San Antonio as a Creative City of Gastronomy in 2017. <\/p>\n

Tucson, Arizona is the only other U.S. city with the UNESCO designation.<\/p>\n

The new cohort of chef ambassadors excites Elizabeth Johnson, chef\/owner of Pharm Table and a member of the selection committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe overwhelming talent we encountered during the selection process is a testament to the incredible diversity, skill and dedication present in San Antonio\u2019s culinary landscape,\u201d Johnson said in a statement. \u201cI am eager to see how our chef ambassadors showcase the distinctive flavors that set our city apart on the global stage.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hotel Emma executive chef Geronimo Lopez just snagged a dream assignment. For the next two years, he\u2019s been…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":62464,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5133],"tags":[44809,5229,44810,44811,44812,44813,44814,44815,44816,7202,7203,44817,358,3187,7815,44818,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,7819],"class_list":{"0":"post-62463","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio","8":"tag-aaron-juvera","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-culinary-institute-of-america","11":"tag-geronimo-lopez","12":"tag-hotel-emma","13":"tag-jason-dady","14":"tag-jesse-kuykendall","15":"tag-leo-davila","16":"tag-nicola-blaque","17":"tag-san-antonio","18":"tag-sanantonio","19":"tag-sofia-tejeda","20":"tag-texas","21":"tag-tx","22":"tag-typedaily","23":"tag-unesco-creative-city-of-gastronomy","24":"tag-united-states","25":"tag-united-states-of-america","26":"tag-unitedstates","27":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","28":"tag-us","29":"tag-usa","30":"tag-wc-500-750"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114846451861122435","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62463\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}