www.bahrainthismonth.com September 2022 47 So, what’s the story behind Cico’s? “I worked in Parklane in London at a popular burger place. It was the 70s, and it was good. The restaurant was busy. Then I met a Lebanese manager from Cathay Pacific who brought me to Bahrain for three days,” says Cico. Following his visit to the island, Cico had a conversation with his wife who agreed to giving the move a try saying “It won’t cost us anything.” Their first few years were difficult as Cico was running a nightclub, and it wasn’t making any money. “Nobody was paying their bill; it was a disaster! So, I left and had no job,” he says. Cico soon met Mr. Yanni and together they opened a little shop. “He gave me a little bit of money, and I told him I’d done some work at a restaurant previously and could start something in Bahrain. I bought a lot of stuff cheap to get Cico’s started, and we started from nothing,» he says proudly. He explains that with Mr. Yanni’s help, they found a place in Adliya to open a restaurant. “We went to see Mr. Obaidly, who owned the place and still owns it. And he said ‘okay, go ahead, do what you like’. I got my friend Peter involved, who was also living in Bahrain, and he helped me out. So, we started Cico’s with everything we had. In the beginning, I was doing everything; the cooking, the serving, washing up - everything,» he explains. “My wife designed the menu and helped me out in the kitchen because her English was much better than mine. As for the logo, my daughter designed the one you see today,” he adds. He changed the game regarding fine dining and upped the ante when his restaurant received a special beverage licence which he said was a simple process. Cico and his wife worked on the menu and insisted on serving only the freshest ingredients. So, he visited the fish market every day at 5am. Another way Cico ensured his ingredients were the best was by sourcing ingredients from Holland and, eventually, Italy, which included the freshest Parmesan cheese. “I slowly brought them all in, and they became famous with even local people buying some of the ingredients,» he says. He had also incorporated seafood into the menu, another groundbreaking move. “Hammour Arabic was one of my favourite dishes which grew to be very popular with diners. We grilled hamour in lemon and garlic with parsley,” he says. Cico believes that a big part of the restaurant’s success was how staff were managed. “We made sure that staff were paid and that we paid for their visa, which was a lot of money back in those days. They were all under my sponsorship and happy to work for a long time. Once they started with me, they never left. They would cry when they had to leave if they had to go,” he says. “I used to give them good wages, bought their uniforms, including their waistcoats, and even found their accommodation. They were never bothered about the work that the chef gave them, and were happy. I always looked after them,” he adds. As the years rolled by, Cico wanted to expand his business and thought of opening a burger joint, but his father changed his mind, which ended up being the best decision he made. People complained that they couldn’t even get a table. “We kept the restaurant going, and we just got busier and busier. We had a lot of high-level and international guests, and even hosted the Palestinian ambassador and the Secretariat.» “Even George Middleton, the publisher of Bahrain This Month, knows that Cico’s was the place to be seen. It became the meeting place for bank managers and other professionals treating their clients to Cico’s in the 70s and 80s. I worked very hard to keep Cico’s going and made sure we trained our staff from the kitchen to the front-of-house properly. Everyone was either at Cico’s or talking about Cico’s,” he laughs. It’s been 18 years since Cico left Bahrain - a place he thinks about daily. “I was friends with everybody when I lived there. I have so many pictures of so many people. I was an older friend to many… like a mentor. I don’t know if anyone still remembers me; not many people keep in touch,” he says, adding that one of the people who often kept in touch from the restaurant was his Matre’D, Francis, who was in charge when he left. After leaving Bahrain, Cico worked at several restaurants across the UK, including another Italian restaurant and a Spanish restaurant. The restaurateur currently lives in Guildford Surrey, UK, is now a grandfather of six and will soon be a great grandfather! He grows roses in his garden as a daily reminder of his life in Bahrain “It’s a reminder of the flag,” he says. During our Zoom call, he points at pictures from the restaurant, including many with customers and photos of Bahrain. While Cico’s was incredibly successful, his love for his children superseded his passion for the restaurant business in Bahrain. Cico’s restaurant meant a lot of time away from his children, and he missed them terribly. Eventually, his wife bought a house outside of London on a hill - a “mountain to climb” as Cico describes it. “It was tough when I came back to the UK from Bahrain,» he says, explaining that the transition was not easy. Cico says that his favourite memory of living in Bahrain is that he was happy. “I was delighted with the people of Bahrain, and I was making a good living. Sometimes, I used to finish at the restaurant at one or two in the morning, and by four or five I used to go to the markets to get my basket of fresh fish. That’s one thing I know for sure - my fish was fresh every day,” he concludes. interview
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