Saratoga News

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Reza Fard, better known as Uncle Ray, holds up a tray of his baby back ribs.

Caterer brings barbecue specialties to Los Gatos

By Suzanne Cristallo

Schoolchildren call him Uncle Ray.

Wearing a chef's hat, a bow tie and bright red and yellow aprons, he has served kids the kind of hot food that makes them look forward to school lunch. Uncle Ray is Reza Fard, and his success in catering two Christian schools in Los Gatos and Mountain View has given him the impetus to open Uncle Ray's BBQ in Los Gatos.

The grand opening of the restaurant last week in the Rinconada Center off Pollard Road marks a quick recovery for Fard, who just eight years ago arrived in the United States after leaving Iran because he was not happy with the political climate there.

Fard, 40, and wife Sahra came to San Jose with their children after learning that Oscar Afchari, Fard's childhood friend who had come to America some 14 years earlier, was living there. For the next two years, Fard worked with Bon Appetit caterers, gaining the experience he needed to start his own catering business with the private schools.

"I asked my own kids what their favorite meals were," Fard says of his school menu planning. The resulting fare caused his customer base to grow from 75 students to 215 within the first year. Their all-time favorite dish is chicken nuggets, which Fard includes in his kids' menu at the restaurant.

For adults or big kids, the menu is varied. From the grill, the biggest takeout seller is baby back pork ribs smothered in Uncle Ray's homemade spicy barbecue sauce. Also from the grill comes an eight-ounce New York steak marinated in lemon juice, garlic and saffron and a barbecued half chicken for $8.95 each.

Noting the lack of some specialty food in the area, Fard also offers Persian dishes of beef and white fish fillet kabobs served with basmati rice, as well as chicken and veggie kabobs. Eighty percent of his customers order them, he says. His Mexican specialties include chile verde and chile Colorado with rice, beans and tortillas for $4.50. A free trip to the salad bar is offered as an opening special with all dinners.

Fard and Afchari, also 40, are business partners. Afchari, a building contractor, did all of the interior remodeling of Uncle Ray's. Fard is the working partner, spending his days and evenings juggling his catering business with the operating demands of the new restaurant. Besides his school catering, he caters private parties and has handled functions of up to1,500 guests.

Fard says his biggest joy is watching the smiles after customers taste his food and hearing them say they will return. "That's enough for me," he says.

Uncle Ray's BBQ, 1452 Pollard Rd., Los Gatos. Open Mon.-Thu., 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri. and Sat., 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Closed Sunday. Restaurant, 866-2393; catering, 978-6355.

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