Krimo's, Hartlepool Marina, UK

[Al-khiyal]

Krimo's

[Al-khiyal]

Krimo's 25 years of food and fun

May 5, 2010 -- A top restaurateur celebrated 25 years in business in Hartlepool and said: "I have just loved doing it!" Krimo Bouabda was joined by around 60 guests as he marked the anniversary at his restaurant on Hartlepool Marina last night. As he looked back, he recalled: "It has been amazing. It is something I do because I love doing it. It has never felt like a job." Krimo came to the UK eight years before he set up a restaurant. His first move was to study naval architecture, but he said: "I have always loved cooking. I used to watch my mother cook and I used to do the shopping for her before I went to school. I realised that this was it and this was what I wanted to do."

Algerian-born Krimo wanted to use cuisine from his homeland to offer locals something different. He began his business with wife Karen in Seaton Carew in 1985 with £250. By the following year they were listed in the Michelin Guide, and have been ever since. The Cream Restaurants company now includes Krimo's, Casa Del Mar and Portofino, with a workforce of more than 70 people. Krimo said: "I have always tried to give 100 per cent and when you do that, you get 100 per cent back. "I have run my restaurants in the way I would want people to treat me." He said Hartlepool had been fantastic to him, adding: "It is my home now. I have lived here longer than I was in Algeria. I am part of the town, I love the town and I will do anything to promote this town." As to the future, Krimo said: "We will carry on doing what we do best which is to give decent food, decent service and decent value."