Partnership Built on Friendship, Sustained on Wood Fired BBQ
Meet the Partners!
Ryan
Ryan Pang is a native of Sunnyvale, CA . He is professional private chef, Award Winning BBQ Pit Master, Instructor at The California BBQ Institute and ambassador of “Good Times”. Ryan started his journey and passion for cooking at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY where he graduated with honors and was awarded the coveted Service Award. Proffessionally, he has led several BBQ smokehouses in the bay area. Former Executive Chef and Pitmaster of QBB in Mountain View, Ca and Armadillo Willy’s BBQ Group,Front man of the Award Winning Competitive BBQ Team Bad S. BBQ (the S stands for Sunnyvale) Since competing, Bad S BBQ has won countless BBQ awards including many coveted People’s Choice Awards, Silicon Valley BBQ Championship 3 years in a row, Grand Championships from Pro’s vs Joes, and many more. Pit Master Ryan’s talents don’t end with BBQ, he also holds the only triple crown of chili at The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s Chili Cookoff for his Smoked Hot Link Chili, where he continues to be a crowd favorite! Ryan is a perfectionist, visionary and innovator as well. This can be seen in his hardware, his custom built smokers. They are culinary works of art, fabricated from early 1900’s GE Refrigerators.
Kris Zankich
Kris, a native of Los Gatos, CA has always felt that good food brings friends and family together. A great grandson of Croatian orchardists who settled in the Sunnyvale area in the early 1900’s, he had always dreamed of owning his own restaurant. In 2012, after years working as a General Contractor, he opened the popular Gold Rush Eatery Gourmet Foodtruck. Gold Rush Eatery specialized in serving quality comfort food at an affordable price. His concept for the foodruck was inspired by the famous Linda’s Drive Thru, a popular eatery in Mountain View, California in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Gold Rush Eatery’s signature menu item became The Gold Rush Burger, their version of Linda’s “Parisian Burger”, it boasts 1/2 lb Black Angus Beef Patty and a handcrafted San Francisco Sourdough bun. A dedicated parent-advocate, GRE began to partner with Santa Clara County Office of Education and their Workability Program, which provides youth with autism and other developmental disabilities an opportunity to improve on their employable job skills. After finding success building a local following, Gold Rush Eatery opened its “brick and mortar” restaurant at the Sunken Gardens Golf Course in 2016. Gold Rush Eatery quickly became a popular spot for local residents of Sunnyvale for special events and grew a following with craft beer enthusiasts as well, serving up 20 beers on draft. He continues his work with SCCOE Workability Program and his advocacy work in the local community.