Meet the Team
An evening at Ember begins well before the first plate reaches your table. Behind the open-fire cooking, cocktails and warm welcome is a team with plenty of personality and a shared love of looking after people. Meet a few of the faces you’ll find at Ember Restaurant in the Kilkenny Hibernian Hotel, on Ormonde Street.
The Head Chef: Jonathan Webster
With over 15 years of experience across Waterford and the South East, including Alvito, Azzurro and Bellissimo, Head Chef Jonathan Webster brings creativity and a love of seasonal Irish ingredients to Ember Restaurant in Kilkenny. His menus explore the bold flavours of open-fire cooking, with careful attention to the ingredients that make each dish worth sharing.
For Jonathan, a good kitchen begins with people. Trust, teamwork and a shared enthusiasm for cooking shape his approach, with the hope that every plate brings a little pleasure to someone’s evening.
Away from the flames, he enjoys keeping fit and supporting local football and charitable organisations.
Mario Ludwig
Restaurant Manager
Sophie Brett
Assistant Manager
Gerard O’Reilly
Food & Beverage Supervisor
With close to 15 years in hospitality, much of it spent in Kilkenny, Mario knows how much care goes into a good evening out. What began as university weekend work became a career, bringing him to the Hibernian’s management team in 2020 and to the helm of Ember in 2025. He’s someone colleagues turn to for advice and to see things through. For guests, that means a team working together so there’s time to settle in, enjoy the company and watch dinner taking shape over the flames. MARIO'S MENU PICK: The Taste of Ember Platter brings together the flavours of the charcoal Braai. For seafood lovers, his other recommendation is the Tiger Prawn Espetada, which lets the prawns do the talking.
Sophie’s introduction to hospitality came in 2019, working alongside her mam at the Hibernian. High standards were part of the job from the beginning, and after graduating in Hospitality Management in 2023, she continued progressing from Food & Beverage Assistant to Assistant Manager. Her enthusiasm is well known around the hotel, where the running joke is that two coffees a day are quite enough. She loves the pace of a busy restaurant and recommends ordering a few dishes to share, so everyone gets to discover something different. SOPHIE'S MENU PICK: Chicken Popcorn took a little convincing, even for Sophie. Now, the combination of chicken, popcorn, truffle mayo, butter and sumac makes it her first recommendation for anyone curious to try something unexpected.
Gerard’s route to Ember has taken him from collecting glasses to working behind the bar and in the kitchen. Today, he brings that experience to the floor and to cocktails that receive the same care on a full Saturday night as they would on a quieter evening. He notices the details that make a visit feel personal, from the welcome at the table to choosing a steak knife from Ember’s magnetic board. Away from the restaurant, he enjoys discovering parts of Ireland he hasn’t visited, gaming and settling down with an old film. GERARD'S MENU PICK: Ember’s tacos are a favourite, especially with chicken, pickled onions and black bean salsa. His drink alongside them? A spicy margarita.
Come and Meet Us
Found a dish you’d like to try? Take a look at the menu and join us for an evening at Ember.
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