Halewood’s Casa Rima is celebrating success after its chef – Kemal Coskuncay – won the prestigious Chef of the Year Award at this year’s British Kebab Awards. The awards held in London recognise the efforts of restaurants and takeaways across the country.

Casa Rima, which serves Mediterranean cuisine, opened its doors on Baileys Lane in 2023 and has proven hugely popular with customers in Halewood.

Casa Rima owner Baris Coskuncay, who is the brother of chef Kemal, said: “It was a great evening – a great atmosphere. Now London knows the quality of the restaurants we have up here!

“Kemal is an amazing chef. He has been in the business over 20 years. His work speaks for itself. It is the second time he has won a national best chef award. I think that is testament to his character and his hard work. His food is consistently excellent.

Baris added: “I think we have brought something really special to Halewood with Casa Rima. The restaurant stands out because of the quality of the food. People are attracted by the food and we treat our customers well. We’re helping to attract people into the area as well as our customers who live locally.”

Baris is also the operator of The Triangle Café, which opened its doors in Halewood Triangle Park in October last year following major investment in the building next to the Environment Centre.

Baris said: “The Triangle Park Café is amazing, perhaps the biggest success we’ve had so far. It’s a real quality offer and it’s attracting a lot of people to the park who had never visited before, particularly families. People have told us they could never have imagined there would be a restaurant like this in the park. It’s been a great response from customers.”