Sidebar:
Tukka Lemonade

A fresh and exciting wind has blown into East End carrying on it the delicious scents of cuisine created by renowned chef Ron Hargrave. Tukka Restaurant has opened its doors in an enviable position by the sea, looking out on the Wreck of the Ten Sails. Already there is great buzz about the menu featuring a mixture of Caribbean and International dishes with an Aussie twist, and a member of staff who couldn’t be more enthusiastic about this new venture is bartender Karl Ashmore.

Karl has worked in the service industry ever since he was of legal age to do so. Born in Dublin, Ireland, he found his first position behind the bar of a lounge in Jersey, Channel Islands. It was obvious from early that he had a hankering for travel and he fed that urge every chance he got. After a couple of years cutting his teeth in this job, he moved on to France and Spain, settling in Normandy for over a year where he bartended in a pub and learned how to speak French fluently.

While he was enjoying his stint in Europe he was already planning his next trip, and decided that the Caribbean should be his next port of call. With no family, friends or work waiting for him, he simply purchased a ticket to Martinique and it wasn’t long before he was behind a bar again. Over time he worked his way up through the islands – Guadeloupe, Antigua, Anguilla, St Barts, St Eustatius… spending a couple of months in each until he settled in Saint-Martin. The mixture of languages and cultures there appealed to him, particularly with his knowledge of French. He started by managing a restaurant for four years, then it was a nightclub for two. Eventually Karl reckoned it was time to step up to the plate and open his own place.

He transformed a Chinese restaurant into The Crazy Leprechaun where he spent two years introducing the uninitiated to Guinness and all its many wonders. By this time he was starting to miss family, and so he sold everything to come to the Cayman Islands in October 2009 where his siblings resided. Again, that Irish luck came in handy, and he quickly found a job at the popular Stingers, followed by Mezza.

Who knows what his next move might have been had Ron Hargrave not hopped up like a ‘roo and offered him a place in his brand new restaurant, Tukka! The concept appealed to Karl, and he couldn’t argue with the East End location – what a marvellous district to choose! Inspired by Ron’s enthusiasm and vigour, Karl signed up immediately and now he can be found each day behind the welcoming, dark wood bar of Tukka. The day the doors opened, people began flooding in to check out the new kid on the block, and the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. They have great food and a terrific selection of wines (expect to see Yellowtail on the shelves of course), not to mention the rum that brings the Caribbean beautifully to the table – Bacardi.

Is Karl going to stick with this line of work for the time being? Absolutely! He brings a zest to his bartending that fits perfectly with the Tukka credo – fantastic food, lots of fun and absolutely No Worries, Mate. As he always says – “Ich Liebe Dich Bebe” (whatever that means.) Stop by Tukka today for breakfast, lunch or dinner and pull up a chair to the bar(bie). It’s island life brought to life!   WH