Scores on the doors
Discussion
How much faith do you have in these, how much of an influence do they have, and would you eat anywhere with a "low" score?
We've always had an eye on them as we're quite discerning where we eat although we have observed some inconsistencies lately with restaraunts in the area.
But imagine our suprise, sat in our favourite indian restaraunt the other day - which is absolutely superb, somewhere we eat (like kings) most weeks and have never had an unduly bad reaction, somewhere the staff are so enthusiastic we engage in discussion about the dishes and they offer to make specials for us eg "did you like that fish dish, give us 48hrs notice and we'll prep it with whatever fish you like" etc - so we're sat there when a punter sat at another table mentions they have a "1" score as opposed to the 4 they previously had. staff somewhat embarassed and insist it must be a mistake (well wouldn't they I hear you chorus)
But heres the thing, while being a superb chef doesn't dictate you must have good hygene I do feel you're either someone who cares about what you do or you don't and being frankly the best indian restaraunt I've ever eaten at (and I've had my share) and having what amounts to a "couldn't sodding well care less" hygene rating just doesn't sit. we both agreed we were left questioning whether the local food standards people were doing their job properly as much as anything.
What would you make of it?
We've always had an eye on them as we're quite discerning where we eat although we have observed some inconsistencies lately with restaraunts in the area.
But imagine our suprise, sat in our favourite indian restaraunt the other day - which is absolutely superb, somewhere we eat (like kings) most weeks and have never had an unduly bad reaction, somewhere the staff are so enthusiastic we engage in discussion about the dishes and they offer to make specials for us eg "did you like that fish dish, give us 48hrs notice and we'll prep it with whatever fish you like" etc - so we're sat there when a punter sat at another table mentions they have a "1" score as opposed to the 4 they previously had. staff somewhat embarassed and insist it must be a mistake (well wouldn't they I hear you chorus)
But heres the thing, while being a superb chef doesn't dictate you must have good hygene I do feel you're either someone who cares about what you do or you don't and being frankly the best indian restaraunt I've ever eaten at (and I've had my share) and having what amounts to a "couldn't sodding well care less" hygene rating just doesn't sit. we both agreed we were left questioning whether the local food standards people were doing their job properly as much as anything.
What would you make of it?
Apparently, Environmental Health inspectors won't eat at anywhere with less than a '3'. (1 being the lowest standards of food hygiene and 5 the highest).
The rating covers everything from basic hygiene to record keeping, lighting and ventilation, so there's clearly more to it than just washing hands after chopping chicken.
My local '5' serves crap food, but my local gastro pub (rated as '1') the best.
Work that out.
The rating covers everything from basic hygiene to record keeping, lighting and ventilation, so there's clearly more to it than just washing hands after chopping chicken.
My local '5' serves crap food, but my local gastro pub (rated as '1') the best.
Work that out.
I might not try somewhere new if I realised it had really bad scores (or from hygiene or just food quality from Trip Advisor), but if somewhere I ate often and really enjoyed turned out to have them, I probably wouldn't care too much. Like you say its unlikely that the place doing the best curry you've ever had, has a horrifically unhygienic kitchen.
My brother's mate was a Health Inspector in Birmingham back in the '80s. In a rough old Balti House canteen, behind a carpet warehouse, he found a middling 2/3 kitchen. The reason it got a low-ish score was, as MC said, poor lighting and ventilation, bins too close to the back doors etc.
The food was so good, we were eating there 3 nights a week with him. Proper curry served in a big castiron Balti bowl with nothing but a huge naan to eat it with.
Then the rot set in.
White people started to arrive. They demanded spoons and forks and all sorts of other nonsense. These oiks then began to be rude to the charming staff. Then, sod it, prices went through the roof. £3 for a curry and naan!
That was the end for us.
The food was so good, we were eating there 3 nights a week with him. Proper curry served in a big castiron Balti bowl with nothing but a huge naan to eat it with.
Then the rot set in.
White people started to arrive. They demanded spoons and forks and all sorts of other nonsense. These oiks then began to be rude to the charming staff. Then, sod it, prices went through the roof. £3 for a curry and naan!
That was the end for us.
In my experience far more weight is given to paperwork and record keeping than actual safety.
On the other hand, something like storing uncovered food in a fridge or cooked food next to raw will justifiably lose you stars. One of the common danger points is the can opener, the piercing blade is able to transfer bacteria into cans if it is dirty. Any inspector worth his salt will spot a dirty can opener and mark you down for it.
In our own kitchen we take great pains to keep everything spotless and as a result have scored full marks for over a decade, only on the first inspection did we lose a point and that was because of a paperwork glitch.
The efficiency of inspectors varies greatly as well, you may have a different inspector on every visit, some harsher than others,meaning that something that was ok or missed by one will be spotted/failed by another.
One inspector told us there were only two places in the area where they would eat, ours being one, which was worrying as there are many 5 star places around.
On the other hand, something like storing uncovered food in a fridge or cooked food next to raw will justifiably lose you stars. One of the common danger points is the can opener, the piercing blade is able to transfer bacteria into cans if it is dirty. Any inspector worth his salt will spot a dirty can opener and mark you down for it.
In our own kitchen we take great pains to keep everything spotless and as a result have scored full marks for over a decade, only on the first inspection did we lose a point and that was because of a paperwork glitch.
The efficiency of inspectors varies greatly as well, you may have a different inspector on every visit, some harsher than others,meaning that something that was ok or missed by one will be spotted/failed by another.
One inspector told us there were only two places in the area where they would eat, ours being one, which was worrying as there are many 5 star places around.
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