A COWLEY Road bakery and cafe with brilliant reviews has scored a five-star hygiene rating turning it around from just two stars in 2019.

Za’atar Bake on Cowley Road is an Arabic bakery and at its most recent hygiene inspection on December 3, 2020, it was awarded a rating of five (Very Good) by Oxford City Council.

Previously in January 2019 the cafe was criticised by hygiene inspectors for poor staff knowledge, pizza topping temperatures and the risk to customers of making dough on plywood.

However, cafe owner Mahmoud Al-Hadad believes the council acted unfairly as he had previously asked for help. He said: “I called the council and I told them I needed someone to come and give me guidance, education and training and they said they would get back to me. Two weeks down the line someone came to inspect us.”

Now with the help of his business partner and head chef, Ahmad Mohamad, Za’atar Bake has top marks and has its food hygiene paperwork in order. Mr Al-Hadad said: “It is good, and we are going to keep it that way.”

The cafe owner finds joy in helping his community and throughout the pandemic he has helped those in need.

Mr Al-Hadad has given away more than 60 kilos of baklava in exchange for donations to volunteer service Oxford Hub. He also hands out entire meals for free to anyone who is in need.

On Christmas Day the Arabic cafe hosted a socially distanced festive celebration and served a free buffet for the homeless and those that just needed company.

The cafe owner said the day went well and he gave dinner to almost 300 people. He added: “It was a great atmosphere, I enjoyed it.”

Za’atar Bake is currently closed but it will be opening its doors to offer free vegan food for Veganuary.

Three vegan toppings and flat bread can be picked up from the cafe between 1pm and 4pm on Tuesday, January 26.

Mr Al-Hadad said: “This is just to spread happiness in the community because everybody is so miserable.”

Za’atar Bake is also looking to start serving more vegetarian food. Business partners Mr Al-Hadad and Ahmad Mohamad confessed that like many of us they enjoy meat. Mr Al-Hadad said: “Arabs and Muslims love to eat a lot of meat, but we are going to sacrifice one day.”

The Cowley Road cafe aims to have one day of the week dedicated to just serving vegetarian food as their contribution to helping the environment and combat the over production of meat.