HOSPITALITY
Honoured – Tarek Thoma BEM of Middlesbrough restaurant , Oven .
Oven ready
Restaurant owner Tarek honoured for generous Covid response
E
gyptian-born restaurant owner Tarek Thoma has told of his pride at being honoured by his adopted country .
Tarek has long felt great affinity with England , the country he has called home for the last 30 years years . It is where he has built a life , career and business . He has nothing but praise for the country and its people - and now the honour has been returned .
Tarek has been honoured with a British Empire Medal ( BEM ) for his services to the community in the wake of the first wave of Covid-19 and the devastating impact lockdown had on the lives of the most vulnerable in society .
With partner Lisa , he opened his popular Middlesbrough restaurant , Oven , on the corner Linthorpe Road and Southfield Road , in 2015 and was understandably devastated when it was forced to close when lockdown took hold .
“ I put my heart and soul into the restaurant and am proud to have created jobs in the town while serving food that people love ,” he said . “ So , of course , it was hard when we were told to close .”
But the big-hearted restaurant owner decided to turn his own misfortune into an opportunity to help others .
“ I looked at the panic around me – the shortages of basics that people were suffering - and I thought ‘ I have access to all of this through my suppliers ’, so I got in touch with the mayor Andy Preston ’ s office and it all went from there .”
Soon , with Tarek leading the way in the kitchen , Oven was working with Middlesbrough Council and other local businesses to get urgent supplies of food to the elderly and vulnerable .
Care packages of essentials were also put together , along with freshly cooked meals .
But it didn ’ t stop there . Tarek decided to provide free food to local homeless charities , women ’ s refuges and the local hospital too . Oven was transformed into an emergency charity food hub , supplying up to 100 meals a day .
“ Once I heard James Cook Hospital , Thirteen ’ s homeless charity and the women ’ s refuges were struggling too , I was cooking countless meals a day , around the clock , 17 or 18-hour days in the kitchen ,” recalls Tarek . “ It was hard work but I had a fantastic time doing it .”
Now Tarek ’ s incredible generosity has been recognised with a BEM , though he is still finding it a little surreal that he should be a recipient of such a prestigious honour .
“ I had no idea I ’ d been nominated , let alone for something so magnificent ,” he smiles .
So what drove him to such extremes of generosity ?
“ I did it because I could ,” he shrugs . “ We were in an extreme emergency . The only thing I was thinking about was helping others and helping us get out of this crisis .”
Raised in Cairo , Tarek , now 55 , came to England as an art student in 1990 before
WORDS : DAVE ALLAN PICTURES : CHRIS BOOTH
switching his career to food . He worked in the kitchens of Michelin-star restaurants , moved to the North-East where he met his partner Lisa and they have been working together ever since .
He famously cooked for then prime minister Tony Blair and US president George Bush at the Dun Cow in Sedgefield before Tarek and Lisa bought their first restaurant , Oven in Darlington , which they sold to switch attentions to their Middlesbrough eatery of the same name .
Now , as restrictions start to lift , Oven is back open – but with a twist . In addition to maintaining their popular Middle Eastern influences and “ classic dishes ” their regulars know and love , there is the introduction of a well-researched and developed pasta and stone-baked Neapolitan pizza menu .
“ I ’ m trying to make the food a little more accessible ,” he says . “ My knowledge of Italian food wasn ’ t so vast , but I used the time in lockdown to research and develop my knowledge of pasta and pizza , while ensuring I had the very best ingredients .
“ We can now promise visitors to the Oven a true Italian food experience , as good as you ’ d get in Napoli or Sicily .”
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