THE owner of a Nepalese restaurant near Oxford has said he is determined to gain a top food hygiene rating after transforming the fortunes of the business.

Gurkha Kitchen was given a two-star rating by South Oxfordshire District Council’s health team following an inspection last year which raised concerns over a gas safety certificate, food storage and cleanliness.

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This score has now been revised to four stars, the second highest rating and which means ‘good’, after a new visit by the authority last week.

 

Gils Jose, who manages the business which is based The Chequers Inn in the village of Horspath, said: "It had a big impact on trade, there were lots of bookings cancelled especially around Christmas.

"People look up food hygiene scores before they book and it doesn't matter how good the food is if it has two stars."

It was a hard start for Mr Jose, who only opened the restaurant last summer.

He said: "I've worked in restaurants for eight years but it was a learning curve to go to running one."

When the business was originally inspected in September a range of issues were found with food preparation and cleanliness, as well as the lack of an up to date gas safety certificate for the oven.

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Raw chicken and salad were in containers on the floor and open food, namely salad and vegetables, were being stored in the cellar. Other problems included holes in the floor of an external storage shed that put it at risk from rats.

In the latest inspection, carried out on January 10, the vast majority of these previous issues had been resolved but a couple of concerns remained.

 

The inspector recommended the business purchase a ready-to-use disinfectant or sanitiser, and that all staff undertake allergen training.

Mr Jose said: "Quite a few of the things were to do with staff training and structural issues, like the gas certificate for the oven which we have now sorted. We've got a couple of more things to do but have followed all the inspector's recommendations."

"I don't want to settle for four stars and am determined to get to the full five stars."

When The Oxford Mail visited the restaurant last year our reviewer declared the food ‘wonderful stuff’and called the Gurkhali Special ‘rustic and magnificent'.

For more information about the restaurant, which serves a mix of Nepalese and Indian dishes and also has a takeaway, visit gurkhakitchenoxford.com