Big Jims BBQ

I hired Big Jim to cater my company’s annual Holiday Party and was not disappointed. He rolled up with his BBQ hours before the party to start the BBQing and prepping everything. There was a chance of rain so he came prepared with multiple EZ-​up tents just in case which made it so I didnt have to go rent a bunch from a party company.
The food was excellent (I recommend the Tri-​Tip), the presentation was great and Big Jim & Amy (his assistant) were easy gong but on top of everything.
There were so many great foods to choose from, I will definitely be hiring them again next year!

DON’T BUY THE COOKBOOK — It’s a SCAM !
Took Big Jim’s Competition BBQ Class in Dec 2014, offered on GroupOn. After the class, purchased in cash, conveniently no receipts could be issued, and they only took cash, the infamous cookbook, paid $ 10 or $ 15.
My son took the class in March 2015 and also duped into purchasing in cash their promised cookbook.
Neither of us, as with other posters, have received the paid-​for and promised cookbook.
I have emailed, left phone messages, and messaged via Facebook this merchant without acknowledgement of my communiques. They just don’t respond back.
On a side note, the class was fabulous, that’s why we put our trust into paying for something promised. DON’T be FOOLED! Product in hand or don’t dole out the cash.
Makes you wonder how you can trust them as a catering business!
I would recommend the Treasure Island BBQ Class. Their BBQ class was also fantastic, but they give out their recipes for FREE as part of the class, and they have a fantastic store to purchase and take away great, quality BBQ tools, equipment and supplies. They also teach BBQ of things other than meat, like vegetables!

I just wanted to say thank you Jim and your family for an amazing catering event! We had you guys here last year and I suggested to have you guys host our event this year and you guys are always so nice, professional and caring. Your crew helped us wrap up a bunch of plates to take to my guys out on the field since there was an emergency and you guys did it with such ease! The food is and always has been amazing! I get compliments all the time about the food, so we will definitely see you guys next year! Thank you and your team for everything!

I had originally written a review after I had taken Big Jim’s class in January. The class itself was wonderful and the recipes I took home have worked well for me. However, I rated the class 1 star because like so many others, I had paid $ 15 in advance for the cookbook that never arrived. I called Jim repeatedly. He offered to drive the book over until he learned I live in the East Bay. Why it made sense to hand deliver it rather than drop it in the mailbox was a puzzler. I began to doubt that the cookbook existed. But, this week, after nearly a year, I was meeting a friend for dinner in Marin, texted the address to Big Jim and the book was there waiting for me. Good outcome after lots of aggravation. But for the cookbook adventure, I probably would give 5 stars. My advice: Enjoy the class. If the book is on hand, it’s worth buying. If it’s a preorder, skip it and just enjoy the moment.

I purchased 2 Groupon tickets for his BBQ class. No classes we posted for months, classes that were posted ended up being canceled. Multiple emails never returned.
I finally contacted Jim on the phone he promised a refund and 2 free classes never heard back from him. I sent multiple emails and phone calls following up and again nothing. TERRIBLE SERVICE.
Jim I will contact Groupon and inform them of your actions. I will also share this post with others.

Big Jim is the most professional, friendly and talented person I’ve come across in a very long time. From the minute I requested a quote for our 300 person event, within hours I got a response back from him. He worked with me tirelessly on budget and menu selection until we got it just right.
A little background — we hosted 300 very hungry construction workers at one of our job sites to say thank you for all their hard work. The guys were so impressed with the absolutely DELICIOUS food and couldn’t believe this was all for them.
Everyone in my company was very impressed as well. I will continue to recommend Big Jim to anyone I know seeking top-​notch, grade A quality BBQ, service and food with a smile!

I took Big Jim’s Course in January 2015. I enjoyed the course and I’ve made every recipe that he showcased.
My one huge disappointment was that I paid $ 15 cash for his cookbook. It is almost July 2015 and I have not received my cookbook. I called Jim and emailed him multiple times, still no cookbook.
That has left a very bad taste in my mouth about this course.

Well I sent Jim one last email and was pleasantly surprised that he responded in a short period of time. He said that he had cookbooks and would drop one by. I met him yesterday and received my copy of his cookbook as well as his sincere apology for the mixup. He said that he had left some of the clerical end of the business in someone else’s hands and that they didn’t do what was expected of them. Problem resolved. I am a much happier BBQ-​er now.

They do not return phone calls. I purchased a voucher for a bbq class. I called a few times and left messages no call back. The voucher eventually expired. Then a few years later while searching for a caterer for a wedding party (we really wanted bbq) we thought we would give them another chance. Once again no answer, we left another detailed message and here we are 3 weeks later and still no call.

So I took the class on Sept 28^th 2014. Chef Jim did not have his cookbooks with him. He was more the willing to mail them to use. I am now 7 months out and still no cookbook. Guess my money was good, his word isn’t. I have talked to him each month and I am promised it will be sent. Still nothing. Now he is removing my posts from his facebook page.

20 of us got together, and everybody enjoyed Big Jim’s passion and his wealth of knowledge about barbecuing. Would recommend his class to folks interested in improving their grilling skills.

The guy brings a ton of food to the class, but it’s pretty hard to translate what he does to real life… unless you want to spend $ 300 on a smoker. You’ll definitely leave full, so if you’re looking for a way to eat yourself through a day, try it. But if you’re looking for a BBQ class, stay away. Oh, and don’t fall for the cookbook scam. He takes your money and never sends you the book.

When it comes to grilling, hot dogs and hamburgers were pretty much all I would attempt and would leave the stuff like whole chicked, brisket, pork butts, etc. to the pros. After wanting to step my grilling game up, I found Chef Jim’s class offered on Groupon and signed up right away after doing a bit of research. First off, Jim tore a tendon on his leg the night before the class and still showed up to do it on time and in clearly a lot of pain! He had a couple of assistants help him out, but I don’t know how he was able to get through 5 hours of standing and walking from the grill to the ‘classroom’.
The food was outstanding. Don’t bother getting breakfast before, as almost immediately we dived right into eating his awesome brisket he finished making that morning. We then went into preparing and slow cooking three racks of ribs, whole chickens, salmon, and also threw a tri tip on the gas grill. His pork shoulder was cooked earlier that morning as well since there is not enough time to slow cook it during class, and it was amazing! Jim’s a great teacher and he covered everything in detail and made sure all of our questions were answered.
Bottom line, bring an appetite and take good notes! Once you’ve taken his class and tried his food, you won’t settle for less! I’ve already ordered the same Weber smoker we used in class, so I’ll be saving the hot dogs and hamburgers for the kiddies at my Sunday BBQ’s and serve up the good stuff for the adults!
Highly recommend.

I was very skeptical to take the BBQ class after reading some of these reviews. But after asking around to a few friends who actually know him, I decided to go for it. Just had the class yesterday, and thought it was great. My printer died and I was a little nervous I’d get hassled since I didn’t print out my groupon voucher (there are a couple of negative reviews below about this). But all I had to do was show on my phone and all was good. Super easy, no issues.
The class itself was pretty technical and much of it over my head, but what a fun day of cooking and eating (lots of eating!). I don’t have a smoker, but now looking to buy one. With some prior hands on experience using a smoker, this class would be much more useful. But it’s still a good intro and got me excited and interested to take BBQ’ing to the next level. If I do get a smoker, then I will most certainly take this class again.
I ordered the book, and it’s a little frustrating that I have to wait a month (or more). He really should have these one hand. I understand if he runs out, but seems like the standard is to order and print as they are purchased. If there was anything to improve upon, it would be to have the books on hand. Perhaps even sold at the start of the class, so you could take your notes directly in the book.
All in all, I thought a great day. I’ll definitely recommend to my friends.

What a class act… From the first time I called him to the day he rolled up in his «look at me, i’m so cool BBQ” truck, this guy was blowing so much hot air out of his a**. He literally got out of the truck and started telling me about how people were honking their horns to wave at him because he’s such a big deal. No Joke.
I get it– it’s BBQ season, caterers are busy and BBQ is popular. But listen, Big Jim’s BBQ is not any better than any other BBQ caterer I’ve used. In fact, I highly recommend and suggest you use any other GREAT and local caterers like Charlie’s BBQ, Michael Goldstien or Ray’s catering. They will be more reasonably priced, grateful for your business and more focused on you instead of their names.
When I first talked to big Jim, this guy could not be more full of himself… «my BBQ is the best, I’ve won awards, i’m bbq’ing for Colin Kaepernick, I just finished doing the biggest and coolest party for… blah, blah, BLAH» and then 1 week before my event I called to confirm everything and he couldn’t find anything about my BBQ plan. I had to repeat my order, tell him my guest count, remind him of where and what time and once I was done telling him everything, he finally «found» the information. Not to mention he just HAD to state that he’s been SO busy finishing doing a party for the 49’ers and some other big-​wig. I DON’T CARE, focus on my order, my party and the things I’M PAYING you for.
Also, I ordered food for X amount of people, not all my employees showed up and I still ran out of bbq’d meats and the meats that I did have leftovers of– HE TOOK… Thanks buddy, for taking the food I paid for, even when I asked to have the leftovers boxed up. I’m sure he took it to the next party he was going to. Gross.
Only good thing I have to say is that he had two assistants, one woman and one younger dude and the younger guy was super nice and helpful at the event.
Sorry Big Jim, but you’re just a Big Ass

I’ve been wanting to try your BBQ and you happened to be at the Strawberry Festival. I had the tri tip sandwich with potato salad and the tri tip was moist and easy to eat. I kind of wished the bun was a roll of some kind rather than a hamburger bun… but with that said, its all about the meat! Thanks for que-​ing!

Very disappointed.
My corporate company puts on client events all over the world, and we frequently rely on Unilocal to help us find the right venues and businesses for these events. We were kind of misled with Big Jim’s BBQ in San Rafael.
We’re hosting a client event in San Jose and had secured Big Jim to provide lunch. Throughout our interaction with him, he seemed to be «very busy» and just «too slammed» to sign contracts or deal with any financial aspects of our agreement, but we wanted to stick with him because of the great reviews.
Today, 4 weeks from the event, when asked for a tax form with his tax id number on it so that we could cut the $ 3000 check, he advised that this «sounds like a hassle» and that we should find another catering option for the event.
We’re trying to give you business and it sounds like a hassle? So sorry, Big Jim… we’ll take our money elsewhere and won’t bother you anymore.

I took the competition BBQ Class today and loved it. I was really impressed with how much knowledge Jim has. He presented the information in a fun way and to top it off the food was amazing! I recommend this for anyone interested in being a BBQ backyard pit master.

We took the Competition BBQ class from Big Jim. It was amazing!
From the very beginning Jim’s Big personality comes out. He makes the learning interesting, understandable and amazingly delicious.
He gets a good feel for his audience and can break it down just enough for all levels. Even those with crazy questions. He might look at you weird, but he will make it educational.
The hours just fly by as does the delicious food. He hits on brisket, ribs, chicken, salmon, steak, pork shoulder and tri-​tips. What more could you ask for? This is like no other class you can find.
Oh yeah, let’s not forget about eating the meats his cooks. Come hungry, bring some beverages, buy a book and be ready to learn things you never knew. Backyard BBQing will never be the same.

I had a maddening customer service experience trying to register for Big Jim’s BBQ Class. Instead of eating barbecue, we’ve eaten the money we paid instead.
The short version: despite the fact I sent several emails (1) with the original voucher for the class (2) emails between Big Jim and my wife proving the original purchase, (3) recent emails from Big Jim showing I was allowed to use the voucher a few days after expiration and (4) my suggesting to resolve by phone, some other person responding to his emails kept saying my voucher number was invalid.
Big Jim or this other person will probably respond denying or attempting to spin all of this, so below is the email thread (full names, phone numbers and email addresses redacted).
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On Dec 20, 2013, at 12:21 PM, Dan wrote:
I received a gift of a BBQ class from my wife a little over a year ago (see your email with her below). I’d like to go ahead and book the class for January 18. If that works, can you tell me where it is located and the times?
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On Jan 9, 2014, at 9:02 PM, «Jim» wrote:
If you would like to join January 18^th’s class just let me know and I will add you to our list. It will be at the Elk’s Club in San Rafael from 11−4pm.
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On Jan 15, 2014, at 6:34 PM, Dan wrote:
Thanks for getting back to me. In between the time I contacted you and you responded, I scheduled something for January 18, so I can’t make the class on that date. I do see on your website that you are also doing class on Saturday January 25. Could I attend that class instead?
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On Jan 23, 2014, at 9:11 PM, «Jim» wrote:
In order to attend class you will need a voucher number or you can pay $ 112.00
Sent from my iPhone
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On Jan 24, 2014, at 7:13 PM, Dan wrote:
Left you a voice mail. Voucher number is 017. Can you confirm that I can attend tomorrow’s class (sat ¹⁄₂₅)?
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On Jan 24, 2014, at 7:15 PM, «Jim» wrote:
You need to send your voucher number
On email
Sent from my iPhone
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On Jan 24, 2014, at 7:53 PM, Dan wrote:
Voucher is number 017
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On Jan 24, 2014, at 10:48 PM, «Jim» wrote:
That is not a voucher we accept
Sent from my iPhone
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On Jan 24, 2014, at 11:08 PM, Dan wrote:
I’d really like to take your class, but there seems to be some confusion about my voucher. Attached is the actual voucher I’ve been referring to (017). Below you can see the email you sent my wife with the voucher, it was a gift from her. The expiration date is December 15, 2013. I could not attend class last year due to surgery, but you recently said you would honor it. I know you have a lot going on and a lot of students, so I just forwarded those emails to you to jog your memory.
At this late hour, I can’t make arrangements for tomorrow’s January 25 session. I’m disappointed, but I’m hoping we can get this squared away and I can get into the very next session.
If you have changed your mind and still won’t accept the voucher, please let me and I’ll just take the loss.
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On Jan 25, 2014, at 9:51 AM, «Jim» wrote:
We still need to confirm voutcher
Sent from my iPhone
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On Jan 26, 2014, at 8:16 PM, Dan wrote:
Let’s give this one more try. If this doesn’t work, I’m going to have to give up — I don’t want to waste your time or mine.
I think I’ve made a strong effort here to work this out with you. I feel the best way to work this out will be to do it by phone, as it seems like we’re not communicating well over email (am I talking to one person or more here?). Please call me at XXX-​XXX-​XXX.
As far as using your website to register, no new dates are listed past January 25. There is also no place to attach a voucher. All your website does is take my email address and text message and email that to you, which is no different than emailing you directly. I will go ahead and send you this same information through your website anyway.
I’ll try again to give you the information:
1. You were willing to register me for January 18 (which you did but too late). I’ve sent you recent emails proving you did register me. I don’t know why it was OK a couple of weeks ago and now it isn’t.
2. I have sent the voucher several times now, I am attaching it once again in two different formats, including Adobe Acrobat/​PDF. I suggest you read this email on your computer rather than your iPhone so you can correctly see your attachments.
3. I don’t know why the voucher number 017 is invalid, but that’s what it says on the voucher. I’ve also provided the emails you yourself sent to deliver the voucher.
Once again, a call would probably save us both a lot of time and hassle.
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On Jan 26, 2014, at 10:16 PM, «Jim» wrote:
017 is not a valid number where did u buy this from ?
Which is a good start
Sent from my iPhone
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On Jan 27, 2014, at 7:06 AM, Dan wrote:
You really need to read my emails. I’m done repeating myself. At this point, I’m just heading over to Unilocal to post this entire interaction, including your responses, and leave one star.