Kareem El-Ghayesh
KG BBQ | Austin
NOVEMBER 2023
Born and raised in Cairo, Egypt, Kareem El-Ghayesh grew up cooking with his family. Between spending time in the kitchen with his mom and visiting his grandparents’ house for family dinners, El-Ghayesh learned firsthand how food can bring people together. He graduated from Cairo University in 2009 and joined the banking world, but cooking was always in the back of his mind. In 2012, El-Ghayesh traveled to Austin to visit a friend and while there, ate barbecue every single day. He returned to Cairo and, still dreaming of brisket, bought a Weber grill and experimented with smoking meats. Eager to learn more, he took a month off from work and returned to Austin, eating around the city before landing a job at Kerlin BBQ making specialty barbecue kolaches. El-Ghayesh quit his banking job and decided to stay in Texas for what he thought would be a few months, but he fell in love with the city and relocated permanently.
In 2015, he enrolled in culinary school at Austin Community College while also working at Rising Stars alum Miguel Vidal's Valentina’s. He went on to join the team at Lamberts as a line cook, and gained butchering experience at Salt & Time under Rising Stars alums Ben Runkle and Bryan Butler, where he worked his way up to production manager. For the next few years, El-Ghayesh hosted private dinners and pop-ups, slowly introducing North African flavors into his food. In October 2022, he opened KG BBQ, his full-fledged Egyptian barbecue concept. Dishes like his brisket rice bowl with cinnamon jasmine rice, tomato, cucumber, tahini, and pomegranate seamlessly reflect his Egyptian background with his adoration for Texas barbecue.
