The owner of a Wirral restaurant is ‘frustrated’ after a disgraced council officer issued a hygiene rating score of four without even visiting the premises.
Alan Tuohey, co-owner of the Refreshment Rooms, in Rock Ferry, said the rating was “undermining”, as the restaurant has since been awarded with five stars. Mark Davies, an environmental health officer (EHO) with Wirral Borough Council, was caught out when Alan and co-owner, Ian Joyce, contacted the council to query the rating they received following a visit Mr Davies claimed to have made in August 2018.
It transpired that the chef whose signature appeared on the form had been off the day of the alleged visit. Alan told the ECHO: “It was confusing because we couldn’t remember having a visit. We questioned the fact that they only gave us four stars because we work hard and invest a lot into making sure that our hygiene is good.”
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Whilst Mr Davies denied forging the chef’s signature, he later admitted that he had copied it from a previous inspection report. During a disciplinary hearing, Mr Davies was initially adamant that he had attended, but later said that “everything was a blur” as he was suffering from mental and physical exhaustion.
He explained that he had given the premises a “dummy score”, following a procedure previously outlined to him by fellow officers. Davies was sacked for gross misconduct in October 2020, after it emerged that he’d also produced a report on a demolished care home and submitted false mileage claims.
After Alan and Ian contacted the council, a subsequent visit from another EHO awarded the Refreshment Rooms with five stars.
Alan said: “We asked the council to revisit us so that we could put the record straight, which is what we did. It was frustrating because we work hard and invest a lot into making sure that our hygiene is good."
An employment tribunal has now ruled Mr Davies’ dismissal was not unfair, with his bosses asserting that producing false reports put the council’s reputation and public health at risk. And Alan believes this outcome is crucial in maintaining public confidence in the food hygiene system.
He said: "It’s so important that this has been addressed because people need to have confidence in these systems. Although he did us a disservice because he marked us down, we could equally have been a nursing home with a one-star rating that had been marked as five. It was disappointing and undermining.”
The Refreshment Rooms, which offers stunning views over the River Mersey, was again given a five-star rating after the council’s most recent visit in October 2021, and Alan is “very proud” of this testament to the team's hard work.
He said: “When you’re a big busy operation like we are, carrying a lot of stock and a lot of staff, you do have to work hard to maintain a good rating. It’s a real achievement to get a five-star rating and it's not just hard work, you need investment to repair and improve things. We’re very proud.
“Our head chef Matthew Fairbanks is great and he has driven all the improvements in the restaurant. He’s been with us from day one.”
To find out more about the Refreshment Rooms, click here.
