Bistro owner fined for not displaying food hygiene rating

THE owner of a restaurant in Cardiff has been fined £5,000 for not displaying his two-star food hygiene rating.

Darren Beddis, owner of The Brook Bistro on Merthyr Road in Whitchurch, pleaded guilty to six counts of failing to display the sticker without reasonable excuse when he appeared in Cardiff Magistrates Court on April 27.

By law the rating must be displayed “close to the entrance where it is capable of being easily read by the customer before they enter”.

Mr Beddis was handed the score, which means improvements are necessary, when an officer from the Food Standards Agency made an unannounced visit in October 2017 – shortly after Mr Beddis had taken over the restaurant.

After the initial inspection, the agency issued a full report and sent it to Mr Beddis, along with the sticker.

However, the restaurant owner claims this was sent to the wrong address so he didn’t receive them and missed the deadline to appeal.

According to Cardiff council, Mr Beddis applied for a re-grading, but this was refused because he was not displaying his current rating.

Mr Beddis said he did not initially display the sticker because he didn’t want to damage the reputation of the restaurant.

“Everything in the kitchen is less than two years old,” he said. “All of my staff undertake food hygiene and safety courses.

“We had only recently opened and I didn’t want customers to think there were problems with the hygiene standards.

“We were given the score due to issues with the paperwork, which I sorted out straight away. I went and printed out the new paperwork and sent it straight back.”

However, legal notices were hand delivered to the business outlining the council’s intention to prosecute in November 2017.

Mr Beddis told the officer that the food hygiene rating was being displayed but when the officer inspected, the found the sticker had been placed in the bottom left-hand corner of a full-length window which was being hidden by table and chairs.

In response, Mr Beddis said he had asked the officer if it was acceptable to display the sticker in the bottom of the window and claims the officer told him this was okay.

However, at a later date, it was explained to Mr Beddis that the positioning of the rating sticker wasn’t satisfactory because it was not easily noticeable to customers.

Following further correspondence, Mr Beddis agreed to put up the sticker in the correct position and sent a picture which was deemed to be satisfactory.

However, following a further complaint, when the officer went back to check in December 2017, the newly displayed rating sticker was being blocked by a large patio heater and couldn’t be seen.

When Mr Beddis agreed to be interviewed about these issues he explained to the officers “he was protecting his business by not displaying the food hygiene rating”.

Councillor Michael Michael, cabinet member for shared regulatory services, said: “This case shows a blatant disregard for the legislation that is in place and this isn’t the first time that the council has had to prosecute Darren Beddis, as he has previous convictions under licensing legislation for a different business that he owned in the city.”

A spokesman for Cardiff council, added: “Mr Beddis and the company which is behind the Brook Bistro restaurant in Whitchurch pleaded guilty to all charges in relation to this matter last Friday. The claims that have been made by Mr Beddis don’t bare any truth in reality.

“Legislation is in place for a reason, those that breach the law will be prosecuted.

“We would suggest to Mr Beddis that he abides by all relevant legislation that applies to his business to avoid any further action in court.”