Poor hygiene rating for Michelin-starred restaurant
A MICHELIN-starred restaurant in Warwickshire has received one of the lowest ratings for food hygiene and ordered to improve by inspectors.
The Cross, in Kenilworth, managed just one out of five during a recent inspection, suggesting “major improvement is necessary” at the popular restaurant in New Street, according to the Food Standards Agency.
But in a statement, the restaurant said it wanted to reassure diners that it takes food hygiene “extremely seriously”.
The inspection was carried out in January by officers from Warwick District Council on behalf of the Food Standards Agency.
Problems spotted by inspectors included ice being stored under the U-bend of a sink and a vacuum packer being used for raw food.
Some of the chefs, meanwhile, were discovered to be untrained in food hygiene.
The harshest criticism was aimed at the management of food safety.
Food handling – which covers preparation, cooking, reheating, cooling and storage – was rated as “improvement necessary”.
But the cleanliness of the facilities and building as a whole, meanwhile, were branded “good”.
The restaurant’s head chef is Adam Bennett, who previously worked at Simpsons in Birmingham and also represented the UK in the prestigious Bocuse d’Or 2015 competition where he secured 6th place in the European finals in Stockholm.
Andreas Antona, who owns The Cross as well as Michelinstarred Simpsons in Edgbaston, posted a statement on the restaurant website.
He said: “In light of the current one star rating, we want to reassure all our diners that The Cross takes health, safety and hygiene extremely seriously.
“The issues raised in the recent visit resulted from a paperwork misunderstanding and a broken vacuum packing machine.
“The Cross had a four-star rating in December prior to this inspection, little has changed in the set up or personnel, we reapplied hoping for an even better score at a revisit arranged for January 2017.
“At the revisit one of our vacuum packing machines was broken.
“We had implemented controls to protect customers, but the inspector marked us down for the issue.
“We have worked with Warwick District Council, completing all recommendations and are looking to reapply for a further revisit in the future. We have absolute confidence that we have always operated at the high standards expected of an award-winning establishment.
“Whilst we are not due a revisit until May we’d be happy to be inspected without prior warning.”