Keith Rzepecki
Canje and Hestia | Austin
NOVEMBER 2023
Keith Rzepecki was in the kitchen from a young age, helping his mom out by making meals for himself and his family. He decided to enroll in culinary school, and after bouncing around smaller kitchens in Wisconsin and then Texas, Rzepecki landed a job at Uchiko in Austin when he was 18. The transition to fine dining was difficult, but he embraced the challenges with guidance from Rising Stars alum Page Pressley. Wanting to expand his managerial skills, he helped open Fixe Southern House under Chefs James Robert and Zach Hunter, but was itching to get back on the line.
In 2016, Rzepecki joined the team at Rising Stars alums Kevin Fink and Tavel Bristol-Joseph's Emmer & Rye. He was inspired by the fermentation-focused dishes, and eventually worked his way up to sous chef. In preparation for opening the group’s next project, he traveled to Japan to study the cuisine more in depth while working at acclaimed INUA, and in 2019, Hestia opened. For the next three years, he led the team and the menu for the live fire-driven restaurant, before going on to help open another Emmer & Rye property, Canje. Now as the corporate chef for the group, Rzepecki has embraced his role as a leader, instilling the standards needed for running a successful restaurant in his staff, while still taking time to showcase his passion for foraging within his menus.
