One star hygiene for Wales’ GBK trio

ALL three Gourmet Burger Kitchen restaurants in Wales have been given one star hygiene ratings by the Food Standards Agency.

GBK, a gourmet burger chain with more than 80 restaurants in the UK, has two branches in Cardiff – one in Cardiff Bay and one in the city centre. The third Welsh branch is in Friars Walk, Newport.

The ratings provide information about hygiene standards at Welsh restaurants, rating eateries on cleanliness, food handling and food safety.

A one star rating means hygiene inspectors believe that ‘major improvement is necessary’ at the restaurant.

The Cardiff restaurants were both inspected last November and the Newport branch was inspected in October.

Both Cardiff and Newport councils have confirmed that the ratings are up to date.

The ratings are based on food safety officer reports in three areas: hygienic food handling, cleanliness and condition of facilities and building and management of food safety.

Hygienic food handling looks at food preparation, cooking, reheating, cooling and storage.

Cleanliness and condition of facilities and building relates to appropriate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control to enable good food hygiene.

Management of food safety ensures that “food sold or served is safe to eat, evidence that staff know about food safety, and the food safety officer has confidence that standards will be maintained in future”.

Cardiff Bay’s GBK was rated “major improvement necessary” in both hygienic food handling and management of food safety.

The GBK in Cardiff city centre was rated “major improvement necessary” in management of food safety. It was rated “improvement necessary” in hygienic food handling.

Both Cardiff restaurants achieved a good rating for cleanliness and condition of facilities and building.

The GBK in Newport was rated “major improvement necessary” in management of food safety and “improvement necessary” in hygienic food handling. It was rated “very good” for cleanliness and conditions.

In a statement on the ratings, Tim Molema, head of food at GBK, said: “At GBK food safety is of paramount importance.

“After addressing the points raised in our Cardiff restaurants we are now confident the high standards that we require from all of our restaurants are being met.

“Quality is incredibly important to us, and as such, all of our beef is hand selected and cooked to our guest’s preference.”