In August, Jen our Casa del Mar manager had a lovely girl called Annabel.
Rachael our long-serving bar manager from Krimo's and Luke, Casa del Mar's second-chef also had a girl, Elisa.
And Stacey, Krimo's assistant-manager has started her maternity leave. Her baby is due in November.
Noel, Portofino's head-chef who became a dad last November got married on August 26th at the same place where Colin, Krimo's head-chef and Tracey, another Krimo's employee tied the knot five years ago.
After a long engagement, our Adam and Hayley, Krimo's manager who left last year to have our lovely grandson Isaac are getting married in November.
Well done to everyone! (Must be something in the water!)
PS: Lydia, our longest serving member of staff has now clocked 23 years at Krimo's.
Krimo's Family is growing...
Loyalty Pays
We have been running a loyalty scheme since 1995 but over 3 years ago,we found a card that our regular customers can use in all three restaurants, both for saving points and spending them.
Each restaurant has a terminal and, once a week the data is collected onto our main computer. At the end of each month we mail out a "gift" to our customers whose birthday falls in the next month. Usually, this comes in the form of a personalised certificate that allows the bearer TRIPLE POINTS if he or she pays us a visit.
If you don't already have our loyalty card, please feel free to pick one up the next time you dine with us.
July Quiz Winner
Our July Food Question What is Pinot? was won by Liz Iles of Granville Avenue, Hartlepool.
She wins a meal for two at Portofino. Congratulations! http://krimos.co.uk/QuizResult.html
TWENTY SEVEN YEARS!
May the Fourth 1985 saw the start of a pleasant adventure. Krimo's our tiny 32-seater restaurant opened its doors at Seaton Carew and the rest is History.
From an unknown ex-student in Naval Architecture and his beautiful colliery lass, Karen and I became Mr. and Mrs. Krimo, famous restaurateurs! A cowboy cook and housewife transformed the eating-out scene in Hartlepool. An AA rosette in our second year. Michelin just after that. And most important, a lot of happy diners.
We had no inkling that the saga would last 27 years, see a steady and successful expansion and that I would still be as enthusiastic about the whole thing as those early days.
From cook to waiter, bottle-washer to barman, scrubber to trainer, food and wine, my CV looks like a varied and enjoyable journey.
Twenty Seven Years!
The customers who crossed our threshold!
The employees who helped us get here!
The suppliers who kept us well supplied!
The friends we have made.
The food we ate.
The wine we drank.
MAY the FOURTH be with you!
New Look Krimo's
Pencils Galore...
When I pointed out the mistake, they apologized and said while they would send me the pens straight away, they did not want the pencils returning.
So, I got in touch with the Hartlepool Mail and asked if they could help me find someone out there, a school or something can find a use for these mini pencils.
Hey Presto! After a quick article in the town's paper, I got seven requests for a few of the pencils and among them, a school, a girl guide club, an African charity, etc...
I am very happy that the mini pencils are going to a few good causes, thanks to the Hartlepool Mail's help.
Breakfast at Tiffany's...
The people have decided! After two months of voting, our customers have decided that the iconic Audrey Hepburn should replace Marilyn Monroe on Portofino's balcony.
She got over twice as many votes as second place, Frank Sinatra.
128 artistes were voted for.
The top ten and their votes are: Audrey Hepburn 64 Frank Sinatra 29 Liz Taylor 20 Sophia Loren 18 Lady Gaga 15 Madonna 14 Freddy Mercury 12 Marilyn Monroe 11 James Dean 10 Michael Jackson 10
A little bird tells me that the saga is not over yet... Watch this space!
Gill Harland from Hartlepool was drawn from the customers who voted for Audrey Hepburns. She wins A Meal for Two at Portofino
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet....
Elvis is back...
A few weeks after being forced out of the building by smoke and flames, Elvis is back at Portofino.
I searched the web high and low for the exact Elvis cardboard cutout and finally, I found a company which specialises in immortalizing famous people. It arrived this morning and I could not wait a single minute to unwrap him and place him back where he belonged for many years before the fire that occurred at Portofino in early March.
The Freshest Pasta Dish Ever...
I washed up at a pizzeria in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and, after watching the Italian chefs prepare this simple yet delicious Mediterranean dish, I often made it for my lunch! Al dente Spaghetti, Clams, Tomato sauce…
But guess what! I bet not many people can boast of having had Spaghetti al Vongole cooked from scratch on the beach!
When I was young, we spent most of our summer holidays at my aunties', uncles' or grandmother's as we lived about 60 km from the sea in the Atlas mountains.
It was not unusual for a dozen kids to sleep in the same room. The added bonus was when Gran lay in the middle telling us ancient fables.
Most days, she took us kids to the beach in the morning till late afternoon.
Our lunch consisted of a few chips and a slice of bread as food was less important than having beach fun. This amazing feast was washed down with a swig of cheap cola. Heaven!
However, Sundays were a different affair as the adults joined the party!
A copious larder was loaded in the boot of the car and off we went.
On our arrival at the beach, the children virtually dived into the sea from the moving cars, while the adults set up camp in a remote corner of the sandy beach. Tattered parasols turned the camp into a tented Saharan village. All we needed was a few camels and goats and we would have looked like nomads.
A grand competition then took place. Buckets at the ready each one of us began collecting clams from the shallows.
The women, in the kitchen part of the “camp” lit a charcoal fire in a terracotta burner and got on with the sauce and the pasta.
This is the recipe:
Heat 3 tbsp. of olive oil
Fry a finely diced onion until soft.
Add 2 finely diced cloves of garlic and fry until soft.
Add one tin of chopped and mashed tomatoes and 1tbsp. of tomato puree.
Add a glassful of water. Nowadays I add a glassful of white wine…Shhhhh!
Bring to the boil and then simmer for about half an hour.
In the meantime boil the spaghetti until al dente. Drain and cool under running water.
The clams need to be washed a few times to get rid of the sand. (Tinned or frozen clams may be used)
When ready to serve, heat the sauce up and add the fresh clams.
Once they are open, add some chopped basil and parsley.
You can either re-heat the spaghetti up in boiling water or just add it to the sauce.
Serve hot with Parmesan! Mmmmmmmm!
On the beach, once the Spaghetti al Vongole was ready, we were summoned to form a circle to wolf down this wonderful dish with thick slices of French bread to mop up the remaining sauce and our lips.
A cool drink and a slice of ice cold watermelon finished this wonderful meal. Ice cold because, on our arrival at the beach, bottles and watermelons were buried deep in the wet sand.
I would give up a gourmet meal at La Tour d’Argent to experience that once more!
Now, can anyone tell me if this isn't as near to heaven as life could really be...
Elvis has left the building...
Many of you may have heard that Portofino was closed for nearly three weeks last month as a result of an accidental fire which occurred in the early hours of Thursday 3rd March. Residual heat in a bucketful of recently washed and dried tea towels resulted in a fire at around 2am. But for the vigilance of the Historic Quay's night watchman, who heard the smoke alarm and saw the flames through the restaurant's kitchen windows, the whole place would have been gutted. Kevin Mason who was doing his usual round immediately called the emergency services which turned up very quickly to put out the fire. Part of the kitchen was gutted with fire but moreover, the entire restaurant was smoke damaged. A great team of craftsmen came to the rescue under the directions of Adam, restaurant manager Elaine and head-chef Noel.
Krimo's Hartlepool Mail Review
Ian Monaghan, a Hartlepool Mail reporter visited Krimo's for the first time and was so impressed that he wrote This Review .
Krimo's January Food Quiz Results
A couple of the questions were quite tricky.
Only 50% of the entrants got all the questions right.
Click on the picture to enlarge it.
If you fancy entering the February Quiz, click HERE
