AT the age of 15 she was travelling the world by herself, gaining experience in some of the best restaurants in Germany and Switzerland.

By 21 she had been a maitre'd and had earned a share in a restaurant in Budapest where her first task was to sack half the staff.

Mifida Abu-Sarah Farouk is now making a name for herself in the Cotswolds alongside her boyfriend and business partner Charlie Taylor-Jones. Sue Smith went along to Tintos in Stroud to see what was cooking.

THE cream walls, honeyed wooden floors and an abundance of green plants in the window set a tranquil scene at Tintos restaurant in Stroud.

People wander in throughout the day for food and drinks, often picking a paperback from the selection on the shelf by the door to while away their time.

But this serene little oasis in the bustling high street belies the fire and passion behind the scenes in the kitchen and the sheer determination that has seen the business flourish.

Mifida Abu-Sarah Farouk, known as Sarah and partner Charlie Taylor-Jones, opened Tintos in September 2005.

The site had seen many coffee shops and bistros come and go over the years but Sarah and Charlie are no flash in the pan - they seem to have hit on a winning combination.

He is the chef with a dream to produce dishes from around the world while trying to use as much locally sourced ingredients as possible.

While Sarah, despite being only 27 has notched up 12 years working in gastronomy.

Customers at Tintos swarm to her warm welcome for which the restaurant has become almost as well know as the food.

She has a genuine interest in how her customers are feeling and takes the time, no matter how hectic the restaurant is, to chat and offer comfort with a dazzling smile that could brighten up even the greyest of Cotswold days.

The daughter of a Hungarian mother and Jordanian father, Sarah travelled extensively with her father on business as a child and when her parents separated when she was 15 she decided to carry on travelling herself.

"I was very young but my mother knew I had a wise head on my shoulders," says Sarah who worked in restaurants in Germany and Switzerland before returning to Budapest to run a restaurant at the age of only 21.

"The first thing I had to do on the first day was fire half the staff," she says.

It was a pretty daunting start for a young girl but she says despite a hard year she learnt a great deal and was rewarded when her boss gave her 20 per cent of the business.

But it was her heart that brought her to England two and a half years ago after she fell in love with a Welshman and moved to Cardiff.

Although that relationship didn't work out it resulted in her meeting and falling in love with Charlie, 34, who had been a chef and general manager in the catering trade all his working life.

"We soon started talking about running our own place and began looking around the Cotswolds as Charlie knew this part of the world, having grown up in Bristol," says Sarah.

"Charlie is a complete realist and I am an optimist so we balance each other out quite well.

"When I want to rush out and do everything yesterday, he reins me in and equally when he is being too cautious I am there to give him a nudge and encourage him to take a chance."

What they both know and accept is that running a small restaurant is sheer hard graft.

"You have to give yourself to it completely," says Sarah.

"If you want people to work hard for you then you have to work hard yourself.

"And if you can't come in and smile from your heart every day then people can see that it is not real."

The warm welcome they received in Stroud they say instantly proved they had made the right decision.

"From the first day all the other traders were so friendly and helpful," says Charlie.

"And last summer when we had problems getting spices from Morocco one of our customers brought some back from holiday for us."

The menu changes at Tintos every three or four months but the ingredients are always fresh and Charlie and Sarah are constantly developing new dishes.

There is goulash from Hungary, of course, as well as pasta dishes with mushrooms inspired by Italy or with a touch of piri piri for a Portuguese flavour.

In just over a year they now employ six staff and although there is not time for very much else they both say they knew what they were getting into.

"We had our eyes wide open," says Sarah.

"In the past we were working our lives away for other people."

"Now we are doing it for us and we love it."