Award-winning pub landlords David and Linda Stone have been fined nearly £4,000 after letting their pub kitchen get grubby.

Environmental health inspectors found food waste and consolidated fat on the floor, and grease and dirt up the walls and on the floor and food preparation surfaces at The Gribble Inn in Oving.

The inspection on February 13 this year also discovered dirty cooking utensils and that the microwave oven and deep fat fryer were also unclean, Chichester Magistrates' Court heard.

The couple, who have run the traditional 16th-century pub for 3½ years, had also not ensured adequate food-safety management systems were in place to eliminate or prevent food-safety hazards – a legal requirement designed to ensure businesses operate in as safe a manner as possible.

Chichester District Council barrister Edward Hand told the court this was the second time officers had visited the pub – named pub of the year in 2006 by Observer readers and winner of the Meridian TV area Perfect pub award for 2007 – after an earlier one in August last year revealed concerns.

"Food safety regulations are there to protect the public and this was a fundamental breach that warranted immediate prosecution," Mr Hand said.
"I ask you to consider whether the defendants have put profit before safety."

Defence solicitor Julie Ferguson said the head chef employed at the time of the first visit had later resigned before being sacked after Mrs Stone, who was responsible for overseeing the kitchen and its staff, became concerned about food hygiene standards and his management of the kitchen.

The failings raised by council officers only 'heightened' her concerns and he continued to be 'monitored' before he left.

A replacement was then found and 'matters resolved themselves'.

But a week before the repeat visit, the new head chef went on holiday for a week and a replacement was not employed, leaving the second chef to take on his responsibilities.

Mrs Stone chipped in to help in the kitchen and it was during this time the routine cleaning was not done.

"They, of course, take their responsibilities to their customers extremely seriously and are aware of the purpose of legislation," Miss Ferguson said.

"They now ensure all their kitchen staff have over and above adequate food-hygiene certificates and have sent all their staff on additional training and ensure they have the necessary qualifications.

"They have been in this business 16½ years and there are no previous concerns in relation to their conduct."

Two subsequent inspections on February 14 and April 30 revealed conditions in the kitchen and its management were 'wholly satisfactory'.
Miss Ferguson asked magistrates not to fine the couple for the failings, arguing paying the council's costs and having their record tarnished would be punishment enough.

But magistrates did not accept the plea.

Handing them each fines of £1,500 and costs of £717.99 to be split equally, chairman of the bench Christopher Whitmore-Jones said: "What we find distressing is that having had experience of that chef and previous visits, you should have been aware of the responsibilities for food-hygiene requirements.

"We realise the adverse publicity that will be caused to your business but we must be seen to protect the public."

Speaking after the hearing, Ian Brightmore, the district council's environmental health manager, said: "We prosecute only in cases where our normal approach of advising and working with the business has not worked, or where the conditions found are so bad that we have little option but to take formal prosecution.

"We had approached them before and matters were not resolved to a satisfactory standard so we prosecuted."

David and Linda Stone pleaded guilty to three offences:

Allowing the floor, walls and surfaces in the food preparation area to be dirty.

Allowing the cooking utensils, microwave oven,
deep-fat fryer and food-preparation surfaces in the food preparation area to be dirty.

Failing to implement an adequate food-safety system to eliminate or prevent food-safety hazards.

After the court case, Mr Stone said: "We were in service at the time and it was in the middle of a very busy lunch hour. A machine had overflowed right underneath the units. It would have been spotted at the end of service when we normally clean it thoroughly anyway, but they came in during service.
"Obviously we scrub all the floors and clean the surfaces at the end of every service. When they visited literally 12 to 15 hours later, we passed."

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