Scores scheme leaves red-faced chefs

By Martin Cassidy
BBC Northern Ireland consumer correspondent

The Alexandra Bar (top) scored one point, as did Cafe Rankin in Castle Court (bottom)

Some of Northern Ireland's top chefs and glamorous eateries have been left with egg on their face by a rating system, which has thrown up surprising results on food safety.

In some cases fast foot outlets in disadvantaged areas are proving shining examples to their celebrity competitors.

The most glaring example is the upmarket Paul Rankin cafe in the Castle Court shopping mall.

When city council officials called unannounced at the Rankin cafe they awarded it just one star for food hygiene.

The Environmental Health Department at city hall has confirmed that one star under its "scores on the doors" scheme falls into the category regarded as poor.

The Alexandra Bar in the run down York Road area also scored just one star.

Hardly the type of premises which a Rankin establishment would like to see itself ranked alongside.

A spokesman for Cafe Paul Rankin said they had experienced problems on the day of the inspection.

"The main reason for this low score centred on refrigeration and hot water problems that the cafe was experiencing at the time of the inspection," he said.

"We took immediate action to fix all the refrigeration units and install an extra boiler to ensure our hot water supply was sufficient."

Some glamorous eateries did not score well

If that Rankin establishment was caught on the hop, some of the city's grittiest areas had themselves well scrubbed up when the inspectors arrived.

The Shankill Road may not be the most glamorous place in Belfast, but according to the council the Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet there is a five star establishment on food hygiene.

Manager Mark Brown has been serving bargain buckets for 13 years and said that good hygiene is all about team work.

It is hard to say how much it means to the young Combat 18 enthusiast who wanted to talk to me further down the road.

But then no one deserves to be served food prepared in unsatisfactory conditions and by people who simply do not care.

Less than two miles from city hall is a hot food bar in south Belfast.

The only score on the door here is a note saying it will be open at five.

But then like 20 other food establishments around the city, its hygiene score is nothing to shout about.

Quite literally, it's nothing.

The zero score is really a badge of shame.

It means that the establishment has little or no appreciation of food safety.

That's a chilling thought, even for the seriously hungry and/or drunk.

But Helen Morrissey of the council said that such establishments are targeted for special attention by the environmental health department.

Over in west Belfast the Friday lunchtime customers are arriving for fish and chips at Raffos.

The five stars proudly displayed in the window show that the only grease here is the elbow sort, used to leave the surfaces of the modest sized shop gleaming.

And down in the fashionable Stranmillis village area, the Sphinx is another small food establishment which is using its five star hygiene grading to bring in the customers.

And that now seems to be the general story as businesses see the marketing potential.

Many of the city's restaurants which performed poorly in the first inspection have pulled their socks up and hit back with improved scores in subsequent inspections.

And that is underlined by Cafe Rankin: "We take the issue of food hygiene extremely seriously and welcome such initiatives that keep a close eye on the industry. We are confident that our cafe at Castle Court meets all the requirements in this area and look forward to our next scoring."

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Some of our top chefs and glamorous eating places have been left with egg on their face by a rating system which has thrown up surprising results on food safety and hygiene.