Algerian trip...

I'm back!
I went to visit my father, my sisters and their families.
The weather ranged from boiling hot afternoons to cool evenings, dusty mornings and torrential rains.
As usual, the seasonal produce was on show. I was a few days too early for my sister's apricots but there were enough fruits to make up for them. The strawberries were delicious and the dates absolutely luscious.




















A visit to one of Algiers oldest fish restaurants, Sauveur (a true Saviour!) was an evening to remember. Fish, fish and fish... Gorgeous.
















Minted tea and roasted nuts, overlooking the Med from the south.
















Fishermen enjoying a great sunset...

Fishing for compliments...

Click on photo to enlarge

I took this photo last week as I waited for the lock gates to open after the fishing boat entered the Marina.

Sometimes the catch of fish and crustaceans is landed just outside the restaurant's windows to await collection. I once witnessed a crab's hopeless escape attempt out of its holding crate.

Krimo's highly visible, golden sign must be one of the first things that weary sailors catch a glimpse of when entering the safe haven that is Hartlepool Marina.

Besides the fishing fleet, the Marina is home to many moored yachts, sailing boats or cruisers whose owners use mostly at weekends like a floating caravan. During the summer there is also an influx of foreign seafarers making their way up or down along the North Sea coast.

Most of those who stop the night in Hartlepool usually use at least one of our restaurants. This has generally been an excellent opportunity for me to have an interesting conversation on boats, yachting and foreign lands. I often end up being a little envious of these lucky free spirits. This never fails to take me back to my sailing days when I was a student. The farthest place I visited was Madagascar.

Nicola...

...has been with us at Krimos for nearly SEVEN YEARS!!

She has risen from a shy sixteen year-old waitress to a confident all-rounder. There is no job title or description for Nicola.
She is Krimo's!
Our regular customers bring her chocolates, which I often plunder when she leaves them behind the bar and bottles of wine -they know she is a connaisseur.


She has looked after the restaurant like her own. She has trained most of our young staff over the time she has been with us. Even Karen, when she came out of early retirement! Anything she needed to know, Nicola knew it.

When Adam started the Salsa classes at Casa, she enrolled most of her family to support the venture.
Last Sunday, she even brought along her Brazilian friend who is in this country for a visit. Oh, and yes, Nicola has travelled far and wide over the last seven years. I am not sure there is a corner of the World that remains unknown to her.

Nicola graduated over two years ago and has been looking for the right job ever since. She was invited to attend interviews in London and New York!
But, still, the career she dearly wanted was proving elusive... Well, that is until now.
Nicola has at last found her calling and is moving to London within the next few days.
Lucky London.Poor Hartlepool.

We have, over the last twenty three years, had many people come through our doors to help us run our restaurants and keep the standards we set back at Seaton Carew. Although our memory may be fading with age, we still remember all those who have left their mark on the restaurants and on our customers. There are a few who will always be in our hearts.

Nicola is already there.

Portofinos of the World...

Last year a couple of our customers went to Marrakesh and found a Portofino Restaurant. They brought me back a photo.

Karen and I went there for a few days in November and guess what? We found it!
I took this photo to prove it.
I nearly went in and boasted about our own Portofino but my shyness (!) held me back.






You may have heard of or even experienced Jemaa El Fna, a massive square in Marrakesh, which at dusk, is transformed into a giant outdoor restaurant with stalls selling all sorts of foods.














People from all over the world sit next to one another on rickety wooden benches or wobbly plastic chairs to sample Moroccan delicacies such as Tagines, Pastilla, skewered meats, fresh fruit juices, etc...
It is an experience not to be missed!















As reported in a previous post, bringing back a photo of another Portofino is worth a bottle of wine to the bearer.

Portofinos of the World...

A few months after I opened Portofino in 1997, I received a Portofino postcard from a guy claiming to be the mayor of the eponymous posh resort on the Italian Riviera.

He promised to visit our restaurant the next time he was in Britain.

I knew it was someone pulling my leg and surely, a few weeks later, Peter a long-standing friend admitted to the scam.

This gave me the idea of challenging our customers to send us or bring back postcards, photos, etc... from other Portofinos around the World. The bearer is rewarded with a bottle of wine.

I have them pinned to our lobby walls and they attract a great deal of interest.

One busy Saturday night, this old dear asked me: "Are they all yours?"

I nearly answered: "Yes, of course and I have a private jet to fly me from one to the next..."

At the last count, there were cards from over 70 World locations. This gave me another brilliant idea.
I contacted our local newspaper and this is the result.

Remember:

If you see another Portofino on your travels, it's worth a bottle of wine in my Portofino.