The Grill Who Played With Fire

The Grill Who Played With Fire

I am not one to complain without good cause but, when I had the restaurants, business always tended to take a plunge during the cold months. All eleven of them! Prospective diners prefer to huddle up in a warm house, switch on Netflix or some …

My YouTube Channel

My YouTube Channel

I don’t know whether it’s an age thing or whether the lockdown has been messing about with my brains, but I have found myself watching various YouTube videos of people who have just got up one day and decided that they wanted to cycle, sail, …

May the Force be with you…

May the Force be with you…

19 February 2021.Three years ago today, I retired from the restaurant business.I handed Portofino’s keys over to Noel, who, yesterday remembered and reminded me of the exact date he took over. Just as I recall the day we opened our first restaurant, Krimo’s at Seaton …

My first UK Christmas.

My first UK Christmas.

I spent my first UK Christmas in Sunderland in 1976, where I was studying Naval Architecture. Despite the festive decorations, the multitudes of shoppers frantically fighting their way through endless queues and evening parties of revellers dressed in Santa suits, I had no idea that …

Thanks to the rolling sea!

Thanks to the rolling sea!

My two-week quarantine came to an end on Saturday only for the new Covid-19 restrictions to start on the same day. Being confined felt like being at sea. If you’ve never worked on a ship or an oil platform, then just imagine a total lockdown …

Wining and Dining

Wining and Dining

A friend of this page, Ken Muspratt of Grapes wine bar on the Marina, suggested that I should offer his wine recommendations to serve with my dishes. Let’s hope this becomes a regular feature.  Personally, I started drinking wine during my student days back in …