Catering

Twisted Pig combines Texas BBQ with Mediterranean flavors

Twisted Pig combines a variety of flavors that have impressed everyone from event attendees to Hollywood actors.

Photo: Twisted Pig

September 16, 2026 by Bradley Cooper — Editor, Connect Media

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The husband and wife duo John and Esther Griffin have made big waves in Austin, Texas since launching their Twisted Pig food truck in 2024. They combine Texas pig BBQ with Mediterranean flavors in a way that has earned them plenty of friends in the industry, and even helped them to meet friends of Hollywood actors. Check out their food truck in today's Food Truck Spotlight.

Owners

John and Esther Griffin

Date Founded

06/2024

Location

Austin, Texas

How many trucks do you operate under this brand?

One.

How did you come up with the name?

We are a pork-centric BBQ truck. So pig made sense. Everything we do is a little different, from our flavors to composition and textures. So we are Twisted Pig! What color is generally associated with pigs? Pink. So our main color is pink! We want to have fun with things and break out of the norm and possibly what is expected. So even our logo is fun and a little more comic than might be expected at a Texas BBQ food truck!

What prompted you to start a food truck?

You mean other than being slightly crazy?

My wife is an incredible cook! I have been trying to figure out a way to get her food into other people's stomachs for years. It so happens that I have a knack for grilling and BBQ'ing. So it just made sense one day when we were looking to change our profession. Our goal is to make as many people happy with our food as we possibly can!

What's on your food truck menu? Why did you choose this cuisine?

Our basic menu:

• Dragon Bites: Sweet, spicy and savory slow-smoked pork belly on a bed of Asian inspired cabbage
• Slow-smoked pulled pork on various dishes.
• Nachos/Frito Pie: pulled pork on large dipper Frito-style chips with queso, pickled jalapeños, fresh salsa, cilantro and onion
• Sandwich: with pickled jalapeños and tomatoes
• Mac & Cheese: our from-scratch mac and cheese made with real cheese, with our pulled pork on top.
• Twisted Tacos: pulled pork, cabbage, sauce and cilantro and onion on three full size taco shells; tostadas: 2 tostadas with refried beans, pulled pork, cabbage, avocado, cilantro and onion and sauce.
• Chicharron: refried beans, pulled pork, cabbage, chopped tomatoes, pickled jalapeños, cheese, cilantro and onion.
• Texican Street Corn: corn, mayo, lemon juice, cilantro, cheese and spices.
• Hawaiian slaw: coleslaw with a little bite and pineapple.
• BBQ beans/green beans: with our spices and secret sauce.

We have found in our time making barbecue that we enjoy pork BBQ over beef barbecue. That, combined with my wife being from Spain and growing up on the Mediterranean, her flavors go beautifully with our meat! The dishes we have come up with give a twist to your standard dish but we also try to elevate some of these dishes as well.

Do you make all the food on the truck or do you use a home-based kitchen or commissary space?

Currently commissary, but we are about to shift over to doing it fully at the truck.

What's the best part of being a food truck operator?

Nothing. It is chaos! But we love it anyway! I think the smiles you get from people who love your food. And the fact that almost everyone loves the food. Rarely, someone isn't incredibly happy with their meal.

What's the worst part of operating a food truck?

Owning and running a food truck is not for the faint of heart. It may look easy and like it's always rainbows and butterflies, but it is incredibly hard work with very long hours. If you can't handle that, it can be the worst part. But it is also incredibly rewarding.

What lessons have you learned since launching the truck?

Where to start. First, know that we travel around for events almost every weekend.

There is a balance in every single thing you do. Finding that balance can be the most frustrating, time-consuming, and expensive part of starting a new food truck. From your menu and fine-tuning every aspect, from what is on there to the pricing to the best way to show or promote your menu. We are always playing with ours. Depending on what event we are at, we have different items and different pricing. It has taken us 2 years just to find what we feel is the sweet spot on our pricing!

What do we actually have to have in the truck to operate and operate most efficiently? What truck do we need to operate? Trailer or truck? What is the best place to get one? Many are made beautifully but cost an arm and a leg. Others are subpar and going to be a problem down the road, if not right out of the box. We have learned, for us, what we need in our trailer; we are still figuring out the best format in the trailer so that everything flows as well as possible in the tiny space we have. We are still figuring out the best truck/trailer we can get and the price that makes sense. Mind you, we are about to order our second trailer.

Event to event, there is no guarantee of anything. Just because someone else did amazing the last time doesn't directly translate for you. Just because you had incredible sales there the year before does not mean you will do as well or better the next time.

Be super careful what you change. Some things work; some don't. Sometimes something isn't working, but you think it's something else. The food industry is a fickle thing. In my opinion, food trucks only multiply that. You really have to pay attention and make sure when you make changes, you are changing the right thing, and be ready, in case you are wrong, to change it back!

Probably the most important thing we have learned. There is no bad event. Yes, there are events where sales are going to suck. But even those events are a teaching experience. Why did that event suck? How can you prevent that from happening the next time? And don't just take the easy road of "there weren't enough people". Sometimes that is true, but be humble and look at what you can do next time to make it better. Sometimes you just get put in the worst possible location. So how do you pivot and make the best of that situation right then and there to avert a disaster? When you finish an event, and it wasn't as good as you had hoped, what went wrong? How do you prevent that from happening next time? Sometimes it is just the weather. Well, how can you maybe adjust next time you have that situation so the weather doesn't completely tank your sales (like having a canopy that you can set up right in front of your window when it starts raining so people have a place to hang out). Always be humble and recognize that you are not perfect - there is ALWAYS room for improvement - no matter how perfect you are.

Is there anything you would have done differently at the start?

Everything. Well, almost. The reality is we did a ton of research over a short period of time (a couple of months). So we got a trailer and outfitted it to the best of our ability. There are really only a couple of things we would change in there with what we know now. Our menu has evolved. Probably the biggest thing that hurt us to start wasn't really something we did wrong but more the opposite. I am incredibly hardheaded (just ask my family). For the first six months, I knew we had it down perfectly and knew we knew what we were doing. So I was rigid and unwilling to adjust and make changes. The reality is, we have an amazing product(s). But how do we improve things to get more of it in other people's hands?

So if I could start over, the biggest thing I would do differently is be willing to be wrong and learn so that I could start adjusting faster. That by itself would have me farther along now than we are.

Any tips/advice to others thinking of launching a food truck?

Read the prior two questions. Surround yourself with others in the industry. Make friends. Be willing to help others and share your secrets to success. If you do, they will return the favor. Having friends in this industry goes a long way. No war has been won by a lone person.

Do you have any anecdotes about running a food truck — any unique interactions or special events you've been booked at?

We are no better or more successful than anyone else. But we love people and enjoy serving them. We have good food. People like our trailer. People tend to love our logo. We play with things. I play with people at the window. It can be an absolute BLAST! If you make it so.

Our favorite venue is working the track — Circuit of the Americas. Some of the coolest people. Great events. Doesn't always make us the best money, but they are fun.

We have done Formula 1, MotoGP and numerous other events. We have gotten to see Willie Nelson play on stage there with his son. We got to meet a gentleman that I have followed and admired in the car industry for decades; he is a former race car driver with numerous championships who now does the driving and reviewing for one of the large car magazines/channels. At a Comic-Con in McAllen, Texas, we got to meet an actor who is good friends with Adam Sandler and who has been in many of his movies. He loved our food so much he ate with us each day and started bringing his friends with him.

On the other hand, as we travel all over the state, we have been stuck on the side of the road several times on our way home from events because our vehicle, without warning, has decided it wanted some TLC. We have arrived to cater an event and found that something went wrong with the packaging and that more than 100 pounds of our just-cooked meat had gone bad! We have had electrical wires in the trailer start melting and burning while we are in the middle of food service at an event, with a line with no clue where it is happening and why! We have set up for our largest event of the year, and when we were about to leave went to wash our hands and found that the water pump had died (with no replacement)! This is the evening before all our inspections for the event, which are supposed to happen at 9 a.m. the next morning. We have arrived at our trailer a day before we are pulling out for an event to find someone has broken into our trailer and stolen our generator that we have to use the next day for an event!

Needless to say, there are a million plus things that can go wrong with a restaurant on wheels that travels to different places hundreds of miles away almost every weekend. But when it goes right, it is an absolute BLAST!

About Bradley Cooper

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Bradley Cooper is an experienced editor for Connect Media. He has written across a wide range of beats, ranging from food to digital signage to banking, and is the current editor of ATM Marketplace and Food Truck Operator. His background is in information technology, advertising, and writing. When he’s not crafting a story, you can find him going for a run or spending time with his wife and three sons. 

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