Staff Profile: Colin Berry

Position: Head-Chef at Krimo's

Age:36

Joined the restaurant: June 2000 Initial job: Sous-Chef

Job History: Swallow Hotel Stockton 1987-94, Ayton Hall 1994-94, Didier's Hartlepool 1994-98, Al Syros 98-2000

What do I like about working here? The staff and meeting people

Favourite dishes I like cooking: Thai food

Favourite dishes I like eating: Thai food

Favourite holidays: New York, Thailand and China

Places I'd like to visit: Australia but won't because of spiders...

Heroes: The one and only Status Quo! and the Boro.

Krimo says: I met Colin long before he started at Krimo's in July 2000. He worked with Didier, my best French friend in the whole world. Didier is one of the best chefs I know personally and to get to employ someone who had worked for him was an honour for a cowboy cook like me.

Colin is tall, very, very tall and bloody thin for a chef! You know the old saying "Never trust a thin chef!" Colin has broken the mould... among other things.

From the heights of his cool head he makes all the staff look and warm up to him. His funny lines often stump newcomers but those waitresses or young chefs who have fathomed him out will always try and come back with a quick repartee.

He runs a tight ship, making all the "sailors" very comfortable even on rough evenings when waves of orders batter the galley every few minutes.

Colin, it is great having you on board!

Gordon Bennett!!!

If you’re going to steal recipes from a celebrity chef, you really should do it from Jamie Oliver or Anthony Worrall-Thompson. If you get caught, the chef in question will probably just sigh and say something like, “I’m very disappointed in you.”

So it was a very foolish man who got a job with Gordon Ramsay and started nicking his blueprints. Instead of a simple dressing down, Ramsay stripped the unnamed cook naked and made him do a day’s work wrapped in cling-film.

“We followed him on the CCTV and found out he was sifting all the ideas out of my kitchen,” said TV’s Mr Bad-Tempered.
“So I stripped him stark b****** naked and wrapped him in cling-film. It’s probably the nastiest thing I’ve done.”
Added Gordon, with glee: “He sweated like a pig. I don’t know why he did it, but then it’s pretty hard to talk when you’re being wrapped in cling-film by 25 cooks.”

The telly chef explained that the man had come to the back door of his kitchen and said he wanted to learn, offering to work for two years for free. Ramsay said that if he hired him, he would be paid. However, three months later, recipes were going missing.

“It was a bit naughty. If you’re going to work for a chef, don’t be so ignorant in trying to steal. I’d happily give out my recipes, but you still won’t cook a dish as good as me – the thing about this job is that it’s from the heart.”
Source: Daily Star Picture: Big

My next task for the blog is to post senior staff profiles, so look out for those guys who cook or serve the food you've come to enjoy at our three restaurants.

Healthy Eating...

Just before Christmas, the head of Stranton School in Hartlepool dining at Portofino asked if I could help with a healthy eating competition.

Monday morning saw the launch of its healthy eating campaign involving pupils and their parents. It was attended by the Mayor of Hartlepool Stuart Drummond.

I videoed Mark Earnden of Expo Chef demonstrate how easy it is to create fresh food free from additives. The kids loved most of the food Mark got them to taste.

A few parents have signed up for weekly cookery lessons. There will be a competition in March which Mark and I will judge.

Just desserts...

Rain fell over the Marina on Saturday night.
Portofino was busy from the word go. The "Mad Hour" attract lots of families with children as well as couples getting fed before hitting the town.

By 8pm the kitchen had run out of mussels and sea bass. Elaine rang Krimo's to borrow some but Colin couldn't spare any.

At around 8.30pm I headed for Casa del Mar. It was bouncing! Lyndsay was slowly going through a long list of people patiently waiting to be seated.
Showing no sign of stress, Head-Chef Kevin and his team worked through a row of orders while Adam helped behind the bar.

I helped clear and clean a few tables, greeted a few diners, collected a few glasses then headed for Krimo's dodging the rain and revellers.

Everyone looked on the ball. I went round the tables greeting customers, a few words here and there then entered the kitchen. Colin and his team were calmly going through the orders.
Just another Saturday night in the Triangle.

I later took a few photos for the blog.

Crème Brûlée with almond tuile.

















Sticky Toffee Pudding with Vanilla ice cream


















Assiette Gourmande

Slaving over a hot stove...

Today and for the first time in many moons, I was back in Krimo's kitchen with Colin, Jimmy, Shawn and Lydia, our porter.
I will do one or two shifts a week to ease myself back into the routine for when the lads go on holiday.

I wore a Krimo's T-shirt and my old butcher's apron. And entered the kitchen with my big knife. It's a massive chef's knife I use at home. So sharp you can shave with it.

I asked whether there were any jobs for me to do.
Colin pointed to two big red cabbages to be chopped. He uses the braised cabbage as a bed for the duck confit.
My knife came in handy and I was done within a few minutes. Like riding a bike.

Karen was training staff on coffees so the kitchen was rewarded with Lattés and Cappuccinos to taste.
Service wasn't hard. We only served around 16 to 20 lunches.

The morning brought back memories of when I worked full-time in the kitchen at Seaton Carew.
Always making sure to arrive before everyone else. And when I got a new piece of equipment, no one else was allowed to use it before me!
Lydia, who has been with us for nearly eighteen years remembers those days.

Funny but I now realise how much I've missed being hands-on and I am now looking forward to my next shift.