Just a quick note as an ex-restauranteur, it is entirely possible to only achieve 3 stars out of 5 and have excellent hygiene standards. I had a restaurant for many years in the Peak District but the environmental health believed my kitchen was too small to serve 140 people so they deducted a star for that, and they deducted another star because my storeroom was upstairs. The hygiene part of my assessment was 100%. They score on paperwork, organisation, a myriad of things. Just sayin’. 
1 Like
Yes Michelle there are numerous reasons for points being deducted especially structural issues. But reading the detail on the establishment in the thread the issues are more to do with preparation, handling and hygiene management. Just sayin’ 
Not sure about the environmental health visits.
For instance we had an inspection in our restaurant once
and the only thing he could find a problem with was the dust
on wine bottles in the wine cellar.
And on another occasion at Fabouche in Chiswick I had
a lady inspector who broke health and safety rules herself.
She had her handbag on the floor and then sat it on the
table where people eat.
She ran her fingers through her hair…so to speak and
then picked out packages from my shelves and refrigerated
cabinets.
The refuge system in London I know is crazy as rubbish sits
outside in back streets pouring over onto the ground. I have seen
unwanted visitors prowling around outside a very famous food
store.
We paid to have our refuse taken away frequently…the fees
varied according to how many pick ups a restaurant would
request. Can you imagine refuse standing for 2 weeks…just
not acceptable.
"Can you imagine refuse standing for 2 weeks…just
not acceptable"
Do you remember the dustman strike in 1979? The smell and the filth was absolutely disgusting. Especially outside Londons restaurants. Enough to put you off eating out for some time.
The price for keeping the streets clean in London was high.
And the constant battle with the councils to clear refuse which
was contracted to be cleared and paid for.
A very difficult situation…and a dangerous one in more ways than
one.
Glad to be away from that.
Barbara. I am nowhere near London thankfully. However you have thumped on the head one of 2 topics that Councils in the UK have no clue how to deal with.
Street/Housing Scheme Cleansing
And
Removal of Dog Fouling.
An utter nightmare and embarrassing problem, unresolved by very well paid Management Teams.
My restaurant in London was next door to another and I
discovered that the neighbouring restaurant owners were using
their basement to store refuse rather than paying the council to
take it away 2 times per week!!!
The rubbish collectors were missing collections even though I was
paying for them.Complaining to the council did nothing.
Perhaps if every day life re running a restaurant was fair and straightforward
I would not have considered my move to France even though I really enjoyed
my time here whenever I visited.
I suppose that my good memories of London are tarnished by the events which
happened in my last years there.
The Holland Park/Shepherds Bush end of Holland road became a tipping area for
old beds and things and there were drugs raids in my street…including one in the
flat above my restaurant.
The glass doors at the rear of the restaurant were used by junkies who wanted the
small change from my open till…the doors would be smashed open and glass was shattered.
I do not blame London for any of this.
But I think that there has to be a blame placed somewhere.
I just did not feel safe in London any longer.
What has this got to do with curry?
Not a lot but I do visit London just for Indian and Chinese cuisine.
The same things happen in virtually every town and city in the world. Drugs need to be legalised and supplied free of charge. The weak ones amongst us will overdose and die leaving the stronger drug free population to live a slightly better life with reduced crime. Just a thought, probably needs a bit of refining whilst I have my morning swim.
Yes suppose so.
Carry on refining.
The Passage to India in Nailsworth sends its food worldwide.
in jars, sauce sachets?
How and what do they send Jane?
I must be lucky. My father was born in India as was his mother. If I want what I consider to be a good curry I do what my family has done all my life, I make one. No need to fly in, reheat and eat a take away surrounded by strangers.
5 Likes
Strangers sometimes become friends…if this does not happen we live in a lonely world.
My best friend was from Calcutta…his father a general in the Indian army but his
command of Indian cooking was really not very authentic.
How good is you indian cooking?
What dishes do you do best?
What has lonely got to do with anything? To me the idea of eating a reheated take away surrounded by people I have nothing in common with other than a shared first language comes a long way down on my list of things to do.
1 Like
“lonely world” David.
Yes I can understand that you are a private and proud person many
people are the same.
So why are we all conversing on here…surely it is a waste of your
time?
My wife used Madhur Jaffrey’s recipes when cooking. Do you buy all the spices you need locally?
I really don’t understand your logic Barbera. How does my not enjoying activities like a strange curry get together with expats make me lonely? That doesn’t make sense at all. I’m quite happy to share my life with the people close to me, whose company I enjoy. I feel very sorry for those like you who do not have that comfortable existence.
1 Like
Again, what have your friend’s experiences got to do with me any my family’s past? And what do you mean by authentic? My grandmother was born in India, her European parents were pig farmers, and the Indian cooking I practise comes from her everyday cooking passed on to my father and from him to me. Is that any less authentic that the cooking done by a middle eastern chef in an imitation Indian restaurant in London? The best ‘Indian’ food I’ve eaten in British restaurants wasn’t in London and wasn’t actually cooked by Indians. The meals were in the Pakistani run restaurants in the North West. Mind you that doesn’t surprise me as the Indian Village where my family lived has been in Pakistan since partition.
It doesn’t surprise me that a General doesn’t many have many practical skills, especially one who lived in India, they had, indeed still have, people to do those domestic things.
1 Like
I buy bits and pieces as and when I see them. I used to buy a lot in Holland but I’ve discovered that many street markets and shops Muslim areas of French towns have great herbs and spices. The last spices I bought were from a stall in the Oman exhibition at the La Rochelle boat show. It’s amazing where things turn up.
1 Like