Gordon Ramsay's Claridge's restaurant inspected over hygiene concerns

[Bobby Krishna]

UK: Gordon Ramsay's Claridge's restaurant inspected over hygiene concerns
19.apr.09
mirror.co.uk
Andy Whelan
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/04/19/smell-s-kitchen-gord-rapped-over-hygiene-115875-21288749/
Superchef Gordon Ramsay is facing his own kitchen nightmare... after falling foul of health inspectors over hygiene standards.
Inspectors found Ramsay used a team of pest- control experts to tackle mice and cockroaches in the kitchen of his Michelin-starred restaurant Claridge's.
And at some of his other restaurants they found ingredients stored at the wrong temperature, old scraps on the floor of fridges and hand basins with no hot water.
Ramsay, 42, became a TV superstar on Kitchen Nightmares slamming chefs for their hygiene standards.
In one episode he shut down a Sussex restaurant's kitchen, when he was so appalled at how dirty it was.
But documents obtained by the Sunday Mirror under the Freedom of Information Act suggest Ramsay's staff failed to keep some of their own kitchens in tip-top condition.
Inspectors raised concerns at six of his 12 London restaurants, although there was no suggestion any should be closed.
Inspectors who carried out a spot-check on Claridge's in Mayfair in December 2007 found a pest control firm had been called in after chefs reported cockroaches in one kitchen. The report also said Claridge's had a problem with "ongoing mice activity".
Inspectors found food on the floor of the walk-in fridge and noticed floor tiles were damaged. However, they still gave the restaurant a fourstar rating. A March 2009 report found issues had been sorted out.
Problems were also discovered at the Boxwood Cafe in the Berkeley Hotel, Knightsbridge. And when officials visited the Michelin-starred Maze Restaurant in Mayfair in 2007 they found the walk-in fridge set at 11C - 3C too high. But both restaurants also won a four-star rating.
Inspectors at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea - the only eating place in London with three Michelin stars - described it as "excellent and well-run".
A spokesman for Ramsay said all issues had been dealt with and the restaurants had all scored "very good" or "excellent" for hygiene.
He added: "Claridge's is an historic building and from time to time pest issues are reported, usually when there is building work in the area." To counter the problem the company retained fulltime pest control experts.