The manager of a Liverpool city centre restaurant has contested the findings of a health inspection report.
Amir Riahi said he felt the findings of Liverpool Council ’s assessment of Baron 84 on Bold Street were “unfair” and vowed to prove that his establishment was worth more than the rating it had been awarded. Information made available by the Food Standards Agency detailed that a one out of five mark has been given by the local authority’s food safety officers.
As a result, it was deemed that major improvement was necessary at the year-old venue on the popular city centre strip. The major bone of contention for officers was the management of food safety at the premises, including the systems in place to ensure food is safe to eat.
READ MORE: Drones, mobile phones and 80 litres of hooch among items confiscated from Liverpool prisoners
It was said in the publicly available brief report that improvement was also needed in terms of the cleanliness of the building. Mr Riahi told the ECHO that he felt the business had been hard done to when the inspection occurred.
He said: “When they came, I was out and we weren’t open to the public. We couldn’t show them our health and safety reports or the book we keep.
“We’re trying to get them back in, they haven’t seen anything yet. Only the barman was here when they came to see us and he wasn’t able to show our full records, they came at 10am and our kitchen staff come in at 11am.
“We’ve been told we have to pay to get them back in to do another inspection. We’re a new restaurant and we don’t want our reputation being damaged.
“I train my staff, of course I do, but they weren’t in when the inspectors came.” According to Baron 84’s website, the decision to open a Persian restaurant in the city was “to bring our love of food and cooking”.
It added: “The role of food and the kitchen in Persian culture is a significant one, stretching all the way back to antiquity. It has strong links with family and the comforts of home, and of sharing those with friends.”
The restaurant on Bold Street covers two floors with room for 100 covers at any one time, offering what it claims to be a “safe and stylish dining experience.” The report wasn’t all criticism for Baron 84, with inspectors saying the venue’s hygienic food handling was generally satisfactory.
