The Galena resort has appointed Brandon Veitch as executive chef, placing food and hospitality at the centre of a broader guest-experience offering.
Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa in Galena, Illinois, appointed chef Brandon Veitch as executive chef on June 4, 2026, adding a culinary leader with experience in luxury hotels, fine dining restaurants and destination resorts. Veitch will oversee culinary operations across the property, including menu development, dining experiences, banquets, weddings, special events and seasonal programming. The appointment gives the resort’s food operation a named creative lead as it presents dining alongside golf, accommodation, spa services and outdoor activities.
The resort’s announcement places the appointment within a hospitality model built around more than overnight stays. Eagle Ridge says its grounds include 63 holes across four golf courses, while its accommodation portfolio includes Inn rooms, more than 100 villas and distinctive homes. The property also has 15,000 square feet of meeting space and conference homes used for corporate groups, banquets and weddings, making the executive-chef role relevant to both restaurant service and organised events.
Veitch most recently served as executive chef at Edge by Goldmoor Inn in Galena, where Eagle Ridge said he helped elevate the restaurant through seasonal cuisine and refined presentations. Before that, he spent more than five years at The Peninsula Chicago, progressing from lead cook to chef de cuisine, and also held roles at The Langham Chicago, Radisson Blu Chicago and as a private chef in California. The release said his career recognition includes maintaining the number-one restaurant ranking in Galena, appearing on WGN and FOX cooking segments, and receiving a nomination for San Pellegrino’s Best Sous Chef 30 Under 30.
At Eagle Ridge, Veitch is expected to apply a style the resort describes as rooted in technique, local ingredients and approachable luxury dining. General manager Steve Geisz attributed the hire to Veitch’s creativity, leadership and passion for hospitality, while the company said the chef would contribute to dining across the resort rather than to a single restaurant alone. That scope connects culinary management with the property’s existing restaurants, including Highlands restaurant and Lounge 289, as well as its banqueting and seasonal-event business.
The appointment therefore extends beyond a personnel change: it identifies food as one of the operating areas through which Eagle Ridge can shape the guest experience across different types of visits. Veitch’s background spans independent destination dining, major Chicago hotels and private-chef work, while the resort combines leisure, events and accommodation under one property. Eagle Ridge has not announced specific new menus or restaurant launches, but the executive-chef remit gives the resort a clear structure for developing its culinary offer across those settings.
