The Council has awarded its highest hygiene ratings of five out of five to eleven local restaurants and takeaways who have all served up that little bit extra.
The food outlets have all gone from a hygiene rating of two or three to a maximum five rating in a few months thanks to hard work and support from Bath & North East Somerset Council. And one says it is reaping the rewards in extra business.
To achieve a good rating, food businesses must comply with safety regulations and ensure good practices are adopted by staff.
The structure and equipment should be maintained in good condition, a robust food safety training programme needs to be in place and their food safety documentation must be up to date.
One particular business to have hit the top spot is the Tandoori Gardens Restaurant in Keynsham. This family-run firm has been open for 14 years with the son Ami Rahman owning it for the last two years.
It raised its food hygiene rating from a three to five rating over a period of six months through dedication and hard work.
The restaurant was originally awarded a three rating after a routine inspection by the Council’s Environmental Health team in August 2013. At this time new staff had joined, the food safety systems needed improvement and there were some structural works to implement.
With some great improvements the premises was awarded a four rating in January 2014. The restaurant owner Mr Rahman put this new rating sticker on his window and immediately noticed and increase in trade. Mr Rahman was keen to reach a five rating so made further improvements and achieved the top spot just weeks later.
He said: “Having done all of this work and finally achieving a rating of five has made us very proud. It has also been great for business. We’ve been absolutely inundated with customers wanting to come in and have had to ask people to come back later on as we were full up.”
The Tandoori Gardens is not the only business to have raised their food hygiene rating from a two or three to a five in a very short space of time.
There are ten other premises who have made the necessary changes and achieve the highest rating recently. These are:
- The Waterside Café on North Parade, Bath;
- My Small World, Harris’ Court, Bath;
- The Ship Inn, Temple Street, Keynsham;
- Cafe Lucca (The Loft), Bartlett Street, Bath;
- Oriel Lodge, Lower Swainswick, Bath;
- Cham Deli and Catering, Princes Street, Bath;
- Bamboo Sushi, 43 St James’ Parade, Bath;
- West Harptree Post Office Stores, The Street, West Harptree;
- La Perla, North Parade, Bath;
- Hall & Woodhouse Old King Street, Bath.
Cllr David Dixon (Lib Dem, Oldfield), Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “We are delighted that all these restaurants have made such tremendous steps to go from a three to a five rating in such a short space of time.
“Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Public Protection team aims to protect and advise the public and they can be assured that a five rating is not given lightly.
“We will always work hard to help those businesses looking to go that extra mile to provide the best food safety for customers.
“The experience of the Tandoori Gardens backs the evidence of other restaurants we have inspected. Customers do pay attention to these hygiene ratings and they do expect high standards.
“Of course it is important that food proprietors aim to meet the highest possible standards – but that investment will pay dividends. Food businesses able to display their five star ratings can be paid back in increased custom.”
