By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
This week, the traditional pimento cheese sandwiches at the Augusta National Golf Course will have to make way for a little Texas barbecue courtesy of a longtime Del Rio cook.
The Queen City’s Efrain Gallegos is currently in Georgia, working with Eric Killen of Killen Outdoor Adventures, preparing food for a private party this week as part of the pomp and circumstance that is The Masters, one of the grand slam events of the PGA Tour.
For Gallegos, the chance to cook in the shadow of one of the golf world’s greatest experiences is something he could have never imagined when he first started cooking for others professionally two decades ago.
“I’ve been burning briskets for 20 years already,” Gallegos joked via a phone interview Tuesday afternoon. “That’s where I probably started. I did a brisket out of the back of my house for my daughter’s first birthday. We had some company over and long story short they ate some of my brisket and asked if I could cook for them. I think it was a benefit plate sale. But that’s how I started, cooking in the back yard, starting fresh every time and literally burning a couple of briskets before I got my technique and everything just right.”
About four years ago Gallegos was approached by Clint Beckham, who needed help cooking at a ranch a few miles north of Comstock. Eventually Gallegos’ talents earned him jobs cooking at a variety of ranches around this area and throughout West Texas.
But that first job was at the Skyline ranch, and it was there that Gallegos would meet the person who would lead him from the pecans of Southwest Texas to the peaches of Georgia.
In 2019 Gallegos had the opportunity to feed Eric Killen, who owns and operates Killen Outdoor Adventures along with his wife Mary. The company offers a variety of adventure packages, hunting game across the world, but one of its selling points is that they’ve verified all adventures. That included visiting West Texas and the Skyline Ranch.
“We entertain whether it’s hunting trips or fishing trips. We have partners in Africa, New Zealand, Belize … anywhere we take a client we always go and check it out first. We’ll do the outing first before taking anyone there to make sure it’s the way it’s supposed to be,” Killen said. “I met (Gallegos) on a checkout trip. I was checking out the ranch and making sure it was what they claimed it was.
“He was just a good guy. The food was great, he got along with my customers very well. I was doing this event for them and I told them what do you think about Efrain coming and cooking for The Masters. I have two more chefs that work for me at these events, but they pretty much told me who they wanted.”
While The Masters is known to golfers and sports fans across the world, it was an alien concept to Gallegos, but that didn’t diminish the excitement he felt over this opportunity to take his skills to a new level. He got the invite in 2020 and he was ready to go.
“Eric asked if I was willing to travel. I said I don’t mind, but I thought he was talking about a ranch there in Texas. He calls me a couple of weeks later and asked me if I wanted to come out to The Masters. I asked where that ranch was and he said, ‘No, it’s here in Augusta,” Gallegos said. “I had high hopes to come out here, but that was a few days before COVID shut everything down. In 2021 I know (The Masters) was mentioned a couple of times and it didn’t happen, so I thought this chance had passed. At the end of last year I spoke to Eric and he asked if I was willing to come and I said, ‘Heck yeah!’ so here we are.”
Gallegos will be tasked with preparing breakfast and dinner for a group of less than 20 people this week. He will spend most of his time in a rented home in Evans, Georgia, less than 10 miles from Augusta. His focus will be on his passion for food, but he admits it’s a little different than what he’s used to back home.
“I didn’t try to think about it as much until the day before I left, which was Sunday. I was driving to San Antonio and I was excited but I was also nervous. It’s not so much the cooking part that I was nervous about, but it’s not your ordinary Joes I’m going to be dealing with. That’s something I had to be accustomed to. This is a totally different ballgame. I’m changing my camo attire like I would when I’m cooking on the ranch to actual chef’s attire,” Gallegos said. “Having to dress professionally; today was a good trial run. Normally I set the food up as a buffet style and today I served it up on a plate. That’s how it’s going to be served this week. I’m just very excited whether I get opportunity to go to The Masters or not. Just being here, it’s a different ballgame. I’m going to have to cook my ass off but I’ll get it done.”
Tuesday Gallegos prepared pork tenderloin and shrimp aguachiles as part of his trial run. As for the rest of the week, Gallegos said he presented Killen with the menu about a month or two ago so he could start with the preparation. It’s a good thing, too, because Gallegos’ temporary home isn’t the only one hosting folks for The Masters this week.
“I’m in Texas and he’s more east. He had to get the spices and ingredients and all the stuff needed to do this and he brought all that with him. That helped a lot because there’s probably another 200 to 300 houses rented out the same way as this one this week, so the grocery stores are very limited right now,” Gallegos said.
“I’m going to be preparing some good ol’ fashioned Texas barbecue. I’ll be doing a brisket, my award-winning ranchero beans, some delicious potato salad … even my beef fajitas are going to make it out here as well!” Gallegos added.
Gallegos won’t be the only cooking. Killen, who calls himself “a pretty good cook,” will also be sharing the kitchen space with Gallegos. He’ll be helping or taking the lead with pork butts and ribs, steak night, and his specialty, seafood night which will include lobster, scallops, shrimp and alligator appetizers.
“Some of this stuff that we brought with us is stuff that we’ve taken or killed. The gator is one my wife caught. We’ve been doing this a long time,” Killen said.
As for if Gallegos will get to visit the piece of golfing paradise that is Augusta, Killen said plans are in the works for him to make the 10-mile trip at least once this week courtesy of one of his clients.
The visit is secondary to Gallegos. For him, this week is the culmination of 20 years of work that began in his backyard, cooking for friends and family.
“People say, ‘Oh you’re so lucky to be there.’ I tell them no, it’s a blessing. I am a strong believer in Him and if you don’t believe in Him you probably won’t get far. I am truly blessed to be here,” Gallegos said.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
